Discomfiting news via the Houston Chronicle:

A group of sick passengers aboard a Continental Airlines flight from Hong Kong to Newark on Monday has prompted an investigation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. [....]

Houston-based Continental said in a prepared statement that the crew noticed that several passengers appeared ill during the flight, which is why U.S. health authorities were notified.

The symptoms were consistent with seasonal influenza, Allen said.

Some already looked ill when they boarded the flight but more began showing symptoms in flight, he said.