5 babies test positive for TB in Texas exposure

(AP)—Five babies have tested positive for tuberculosis in West Texas after a nurse assistant at an El Paso hospital exposed hundreds of infants to the disease between September 2013 and last month.

The El Paso Department of Public Health says in a statement that none of the children have active TB, the deadly and contagious form of the illness. All five will be treated.

The department also says it is expanding the list of children who may have been exposed by 96, bringing the total to about 850.

Hospital officials have said they "should have done more" when the employee's symptoms were revealed during her annual screening in July. She was tested in August and put on leave.

Further testing of all the babies is ongoing.

© 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Citation: 5 babies test positive for TB in Texas exposure (2014, September 28) retrieved 19 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-09-babies-positive-tb-texas-exposure.html
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