It was the will to survive that drove Andrew Speaker back to America.

A few days into his honeymoon, Mr. Speaker was diagnosed with XDR-TB, a form of tuberculosis resistant to first- and second-line antibiotics. This resistance, combined with the airborne spread of tuberculosis, made the Centers for Disease Control decide to keep him in Italy for quarantine and treatment.

Fearing for his life, he fled Italy in order to be treated in America. His return voyage placed many innocent passengers at risk and also thrust him into the center of public scrutiny.

As a physician, I am frustrated as well with his maverick decision to sneak around Europe, Canada, and America with XDR-TB. But, I am even more upset with his excuse for escaping to America. Was he really doomed at the hands of another country’s health care? Was it worth exposing so many people in order to be treated back home?

His desire for modern health care is understandable, especially for his difficult-to-treat condition. However, America is no longer the only place that has modern health care. Numerous studies have shown that health care quality among many developed countries rivals that of this country.

According to early studies on XDR-TB, there are similar cure rates among tuberculosis treatment centers in Italy and America. Tuberculosis care may be even superior in other countries.

According to a 2006 report by the CDC, XDR-TB patients in Latvia had better survival rates than those treated in America. Of those who received treatment for XDR-TB, 31% failed treatment in America while 26% failed treatment in Latvia. Lower mortality rates are also found in other countries, including the Philippines and South Korea.

Recently, as an arriving passenger at Taipei’s Chiang Kai-Shek Airport, I was greeted with antimicrobial carpeting and cameras with thermal scanning. A fever can get you whisked away for isolation and treatment. Asian countries have learned many lessons from SARS, and their abilities to handle health crises are excellent. Infection control and treatment has come a long way, especially with the advancement of global technology.

XDR-TB has been diagnosed in over 30 countries and is an emerging health threat. Italy, along with most of Europe, has top-notch tuberculosis research and treatment programs. Health experts have prioritized XDR-TB as a global illness that requires global solutions. Countries need to fight this together, which requires public support and adherence to public health guidelines. That means Mr. Speaker and the rest of us need to obey isolation measures.

Mr. Speaker assumed that in order to receive proper care, he had to head back to America. A decade earlier, I would have agreed with him. But now, the quality of international care is excellent, especially in large cities. I wish Mr. Speaker had known about the excellent health care that exists internationally.

If he had stayed in Rome, Mr. Speaker would have been cared for at a specialized tuberculosis hospital. By seeking care there, he would not have endangered those along his journey to Rome, Prague, and Montreal. And he would have started treatment earlier — which is key to treating tuberculosis.

The silver lining in this cloudy situation is that Mr. Speaker brought XDR-TB to the forefront of our awareness. Funding for tuberculosis care has dwindled in the past decade, and infection control experts are pushing for a return of funding.

Perhaps Mr. Speaker’s story will give a booster shot to these efforts. Emerging infectious threats such as XDR-TB are a global health crisis. We can’t cure them by just hopping on a plane back to America.

Mr. Wu is an internal medicine physician at New York University Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital.