Apr 11, 2009 10:00 am US/Central
Hundreds Of Ill. Patients Possibly Exposed To TB
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Hundreds of patients and workers at three hospitals in Illinois may have been exposed to Tuberculosis by a rotating worker. (File)
AP
Hundreds of patients and staff at three Chicago-area hospitals may have been exposed to tuberculosis by a contagious health care worker, officials said Friday.
More than 300 staff and 150 patients may have been exposed at Children's Memorial Hospital, said Dr. Stan Shulman, the hospital's chief of pediatric infectious disease.
Seventeen patients may have been affected at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, officials said. The facility was evaluating another 100 patients with whom the health care worker, a doctor-in-training, might have had contact in November at its Prentice Women's Hospital.
Both hospitals said they were contacting affected patients and families.
Patients may also have been exposed at Evanston Hospital, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health. Officials there did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The 26-year-old infected physician was training at Children's Memorial Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Evanston Hospital, reports CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago.
Doctors say at some point the woman was at risk of infecting others. She was involved in things like taking vital signs and physical exams and had close contact with many of the patients.
"This situation is a cause for concern, but not alarm," said Dr. Terry Mason, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. "The case of TB has been identified, isolated and treated."
Those notifications began Thursday.
The Chicago Health Department says anyone who had contact with that woman during the past five months should get tested.
But doctors say the disease is not easy to catch.
"Tuberculosis is not a disease that's transmitted by brief casual contact," said Dr. Stanford Shulman of Children's Memorial Hospital. "The CDC talks about 120 hours of face-to-face contact."
Preliminary testing has not shown that anyone has tested positive yet -- except for the first patient, the physician who was infected.
Northwestern Memorial Hospital released the following in a statement Friday afternoon: "Through an ongoing investigation, we have determined that this situation affected a limited number of patients and staff in Prentice Women's Hospital between November 3 – November 21st 2008, and believe the risk of exposure is extremely low. To ensure the health and safety of all involved, we are contacting individuals that may have been affected and are working with the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP).
"We are in the process of contacting patients who may have been affected and believe that number to be 17. In addition, we are evaluating another 100 patients who may have received care from this health worker to determine their risk."
The hospital said the exposure does not include neonatal intensive care unit patients.
Tuberculosis is an airborne bacterial disease that usually attacks the lungs. At one time it was the leading cause of death in the U.S.
The usual symptoms for infection are weakness, night sweats, weight loss and fever.
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