A 26-year-old *resident who is infected with tuberculosis (TB) has been working at three Chicago hospitals over the last 10 months, and has been in contact with a large number of patients, including hundreds of children and infants. Dr. Terry Mason, Chicago Public Health Department, said that authorities are investigating the situation in which “a physician may have unknowingly exposed patients and hospital co-workers” to tuberculosis.
Mason explained that what makes this investigation stand out is its size and its scope.
The resident, whose name has not yet been released, worked at three different hospitals on rotation – Children’s Memorial Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Evanston Hospital (infant special care unit).
The female pediatric resident, from Northwestern University, is said to have worked with over 150 children at the Children’s Memorial Hospital, 100 patients at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (of which 17 were newborns), and 80 babies at Evanston Hospital (infant special care unit).
The resident was diagnosed with TB last week. She most recently worked at Children’s Memorial Hospital from November 20th 2008 to April 3rd 2009. Apart from children, she was also in contact with 300 health care workers.
According to the authorities nobody has been tested positive for TB so far. Nevertheless, as a preventative measure, some of the weaker patients most likely will be given antibiotics.
TB is a disease caused by the tubercle bacterium or Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB generally affects the lungs, but not always – the lymph nodes, bones and even the brain can become affected.
When a person becomes infected with TB symptoms will appear several months later – it is a slow developing disease. When symptoms do appear they include:
- Fever and night sweats
- Cough
- Weight loss
- Blood in your sputum (phlegm or spit) at any time
Anyone who is concerned they might have TB because they have these symptoms should see a doctor.
As is the case with the influenza virus, TB spreads through the air. If an infected person coughs, sneezes or spits, and the germ gets into the air it can infect other people who are in the same area.
However, unless you are in close and prolonged contact with someone infected with TB your chances of catching it are very small. The lungs of the infected person need to be infected for that person to be infectious. Sputum smear positive cases stop being infectious after a couple of weeks of treatment.
If exposed to the bacterium for long enough any of us can become infected. If you live in the same house as somebody who has TB your chances of becoming infected are considerably higher. The following people have a higher risk of catching TB:
Yes. An infected person has to take tablets for about six months. Treatment is vital as TB can be a fatal disease. Sadly, there are people today who die from TB simply because they did not take their tablets regularly.
* A ‘Resident’ is a doctor-in-training.
Written by – Christian Nordqvist