Officials at the European Centre for Disease Control in Stockholm, Sweden, were scheduled to begin a two day-meeting Wednesday to discuss the case of a man who might have put his fellow fliers at risk of contracting a potentially deadly form of drug-resistant tuberculosis. The anonymous man at the center of the controversy is a U.S. resident who had been detected with the deadly form of bacteria and was allegedly advised by health officials to not to fly, citing the risk of exposure of the disease to others.

Although the agency had acknowledged that the risk of transmission of the disease to other passengers was low, the World Health Organization said it could not be ignored.

According to AP reports, the man, who is currently under medical isolation at an Atlanta, GA, hospital, flew to Paris on May 12 on Air France flight 385. In Paris, he was contacted by health authorities who told him of the seriousness of the disease and asked him to turn himself over to Italian officials.

However, the man reportedly shunned the orders and flew on Czech Air flight 0104 from Prague in the Czech Republic to Montreal. From there, he drove into the U.S.

"We're thankful the patient was not in a highly infectious state, but we know the risk of transmission isn't zero, even with the fact that he didn't have symptoms and didn't appear to be coughing," CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

The man is believed to be infected with a multiple-drug resistant form of tuberculosis called extensively drug resistant TB, or XDR-TB. The disease can spread through air and can be fatal.

Authorities are already trying to reach the passengers who were seated close to the man and get them tested for the bacterium.

A federal quarantine order was issued for the man. It's believed to be the first since 1963.