The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has confirmed that a passenger on a Northwest Airlines Flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Detroit had tuberculosis.

The passenger aboard flight 51 was taken to a local hospital for treatment and according to the CDC is responding to the treatment.

CDC spokeswoman Shelly Diaz said that the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta is attempting to contact 17 passengers seated near the infected person.

The CDC is gathering passenger contact information and passing that along to state and local health departments to have people tested for the disease. Spokeswoman Leslie Parker in a statement today said, "Northwest has been proactively working with the CDC to contact passengers who may be at risk."

She said that any passengers who have questions should contact the CDC or their local health department.

Diaz added that the risk level for the area is extremely low and there is no reason to panic. "The risk of TB transmission is very low," she said. According to the CDC Web site, tuberculosis is caused by the mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria and is spread through the air by those with an active form of the disease. The Mayo Clinic's web site says tuberculosis is a disease that affects the lungs. It is spread from person to person through tiny droplets in the air. Symptoms include unexplained weight loss, fatigue, fever, night sweats, chills, and loss of appetite.

According to the World Health Organization about a third of the world's population is infected with tuberculosis though not everyone who is infected becomes sick. Last week a CDC spokeswoman said in 2007 the U. S. had 13,299 cases of TB.