TB cases still occur in U.S.
By, Emily Berry and Mary Fortune, timesfreepress.com, April 1, 2007
Though tuberculosis largely is considered eradicated in developed countries, the airborne disease still infects thousands in the United States and millions worldwide each year, health care experts said.
“The rates of active TB in the U.S. have been steadily declining for the last 50 years, but it still occurs,” said Dr. Stephen Hawkins, a physician who specializes in infectious disease and is medical director of the tuberculosis clinic at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department.
Last week, a series of miscommunications in the investigation of a local case of tuberculosis led to about 30 workers being sent home from their second-shift jobs at the Pilgrim’s Pride chicken plant in downtown Chattanooga.
On March 8, a former worker at the plant was found to have tuberculosis, and the health department sent letters to employees Thursday who may have worked closely with the employee more than a year ago.
“We were just recommending notification and testing,” said Donna Needham, com- municable diseases program manager for the health department.
No one has been found to have contracted tuberculosis as a result of contact with the former employee, nor has anyone in the person’s home or church community, Ms. Needham said.
Dr. Hawkins said when someone in the work force tests positive for active tuberculosis, health department staff try to establish who at the person’s workplace worked most closely with the infected person.
“Tuberculosis is an airborne disease, but the bacteria does not survive well in the environment,” he said.
Dr. Allen Craig, state epidemiologist for the Tennessee Department of Health, said “the risk is greater the closer you are to a person with tuberculosis and the longer you’re there.
“It can be spread in the workplace, but it’s less common than it is in the home,” he said.
Cases of tuberculosis dropped rapidly in the 1940s and 1950s with the advent of effective antibiotic treatments. But the number of cases in the United States began to rise again in 1985, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The rise was caused by factors including the spread of HIV and AIDS, which compromise the immune system; increased numbers of foreign-born residents ; and increased numbers of long-term care facility residents, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The annual tuberculosis rate has decreased since 1992, but the rate of decrease has slowed and the proportion of tuberculosis cases among foreign-born people has increased each year since 1993, according to the CDC.
Dr. Hawkins said the high number of foreign-born tuberculosis patients has prompted the health department to start outreach to immigrant populations.
The health department has Spanish-language translators on staff, and Dr. Hawkins said he learned Spanish to serve better the Hispanic immigrants he treats.
“An increasing percentage of new cases of active TB are occurring in immigrants,” he said. “Worldwide it’s an enormous problem.”
But, Dr. Craig said, the rates of tuberculosis infections are decreasing both nationally and in Tennessee. And when infection and illness occurs, it’s easily treated with antibiotics, he said.
Erlanger spokeswoman Pat Charles said the hospital typically is only aware of patients with tuberculosis if they are being treated for the advanced stages of the disease.
Last year only one patient tested positive while still at the hospital, Ms. Charles said.
E-mail Mary Fortune at mfortune@timesfreepress.com
E-mail Emily Berry at eberry@timesfreepress.com BY THE NUMBERS
8.8 million: New tuberculosis cases reported worldwide, 2005
13,767: Tuberculosis cases reported in the United States in 2006
18: Tuberculosis cases in Tennessee reported so far in 2007
279: Total tuberculosis cases in Tennessee reported in 2006
7: Total tuberculosis cases in Hamilton County reported in 2006
504: Total tuberculosis cases in Georgia reported in 2006
196: Total tuberculosis cases in Alabama reported in 2006 Source: Tennessee Department of Health, North Georgia Health District, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Source: http://www.tfponline.com/QuickHeadlines.asp?sec=l&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fepaper%2Etfponline%2Ecom%2FWebChannel%2FShowStory%2Easp%3FPath%3DChatTFPress%2F2007%2F04%2F01%26ID%3DAr01304
Though tuberculosis largely is considered eradicated in developed countries, the airborne disease still infects thousands in the United States and millions worldwide each year, health care experts said.
“The rates of active TB in the U.S. have been steadily declining for the last 50 years, but it still occurs,” said Dr. Stephen Hawkins, a physician who specializes in infectious disease and is medical director of the tuberculosis clinic at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department.
Last week, a series of miscommunications in the investigation of a local case of tuberculosis led to about 30 workers being sent home from their second-shift jobs at the Pilgrim’s Pride chicken plant in downtown Chattanooga.
On March 8, a former worker at the plant was found to have tuberculosis, and the health department sent letters to employees Thursday who may have worked closely with the employee more than a year ago.
“We were just recommending notification and testing,” said Donna Needham, com- municable diseases program manager for the health department.
No one has been found to have contracted tuberculosis as a result of contact with the former employee, nor has anyone in the person’s home or church community, Ms. Needham said.
Dr. Hawkins said when someone in the work force tests positive for active tuberculosis, health department staff try to establish who at the person’s workplace worked most closely with the infected person.
“Tuberculosis is an airborne disease, but the bacteria does not survive well in the environment,” he said.
Dr. Allen Craig, state epidemiologist for the Tennessee Department of Health, said “the risk is greater the closer you are to a person with tuberculosis and the longer you’re there.
“It can be spread in the workplace, but it’s less common than it is in the home,” he said.
Cases of tuberculosis dropped rapidly in the 1940s and 1950s with the advent of effective antibiotic treatments. But the number of cases in the United States began to rise again in 1985, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The rise was caused by factors including the spread of HIV and AIDS, which compromise the immune system; increased numbers of foreign-born residents ; and increased numbers of long-term care facility residents, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The annual tuberculosis rate has decreased since 1992, but the rate of decrease has slowed and the proportion of tuberculosis cases among foreign-born people has increased each year since 1993, according to the CDC.
Dr. Hawkins said the high number of foreign-born tuberculosis patients has prompted the health department to start outreach to immigrant populations.
The health department has Spanish-language translators on staff, and Dr. Hawkins said he learned Spanish to serve better the Hispanic immigrants he treats.
“An increasing percentage of new cases of active TB are occurring in immigrants,” he said. “Worldwide it’s an enormous problem.”
But, Dr. Craig said, the rates of tuberculosis infections are decreasing both nationally and in Tennessee. And when infection and illness occurs, it’s easily treated with antibiotics, he said.
Erlanger spokeswoman Pat Charles said the hospital typically is only aware of patients with tuberculosis if they are being treated for the advanced stages of the disease.
Last year only one patient tested positive while still at the hospital, Ms. Charles said.
E-mail Mary Fortune at mfortune@timesfreepress.com
E-mail Emily Berry at eberry@timesfreepress.com BY THE NUMBERS
8.8 million: New tuberculosis cases reported worldwide, 2005
13,767: Tuberculosis cases reported in the United States in 2006
18: Tuberculosis cases in Tennessee reported so far in 2007
279: Total tuberculosis cases in Tennessee reported in 2006
7: Total tuberculosis cases in Hamilton County reported in 2006
504: Total tuberculosis cases in Georgia reported in 2006
196: Total tuberculosis cases in Alabama reported in 2006 Source: Tennessee Department of Health, North Georgia Health District, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Source: http://www.tfponline.com/QuickHeadlines.asp?sec=l&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fepaper%2Etfponline%2Ecom%2FWebChannel%2FShowStory%2Easp%3FPath%3DChatTFPress%2F2007%2F04%2F01%26ID%3DAr01304
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 4:52 pm
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