danielle
08-12-2003, 05:44 PM
6 more inmates 'suspect' for TB
Follow-up testing at work-release facility indicates number of active, and potentially contagious, cases is growing
08/12/03
By BILL FINCH
Environment Editor
Six more inmates at a Mobile work-release facility have abnormal chest X-rays, a strong indication that they may have active and potentially contagious cases of tuberculosis, according to health care workers.
In the weeks since an inmate at the facility quit his job at a local restaurant because of a full-blown case of tuberculosis, a total of eight other inmates have been identified as having "suspect" cases of the debilitating and sometimes fatal disease.
More than a third of the nearly 250 inmates at the facility have tested positive for tuberculosis infection, and have been prescribed a treatment to halt development of the contagious form of the disease.
But Joe Jablecki, Mobile's tuberculosis control coordinator, said health care workers are still trying to determine whether the eight "suspect" cases have advanced to a more severe or contagious stage of the disease.
If they have, health care workers said they would expand their tuberculosis investigation to include anyone the inmates came in contact with, including members of the general public at the inmates' work places.
Tuberculosis is typically spread through prolonged contact with infected people in enclosed spaces, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. Local officials say that co-workers might be vulnerable to infection, but business patrons generally would not be.
The case first came to light when health care offi cials began testing all employees at Barnhill's Buffet at Airport and University boulevards, where a contagious inmate worked in the kitchen.
One other person, who has merely been identified as an "employee" and a member of "the general public," is also suspected of having an active case of the disease in the wake of the inmate outbreak. On Saturday, prison officials said the employee did not work in the prison system.
Health officials said Monday that a "sputum" test to confirm the tuberculosis diagnosis in the six new suspected cases was delayed, because the inmates had already left for their workplaces before the prison system could be informed of the results of the X-rays.
Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett said the warden at the work-release facility was informed of the results at about 9:45 a.m. Monday.
Both health care and prison officials refused to release the names of the places where the inmates worked, citing patient confidentiality rules and concerns about fairness to employees. Health officials also said that it was "not yet a matter of public concern," since it was not yet confirmed that the inmates were infectious.
The two inmates whose "suspect" cases were identified early last week are still being evaluated to determine whether they have active tuberculosis, but a preliminary sputum test indicated that those inmates were probably not contagious, according to Nancy Keenon, the state's tuberculosis control coordinator.
Keenon and Jablecki also said that the one-day delay in the sputum test for the other six suspect cases did not pose a serious additional threat to the general public or co-workers. Jablecki said that none of the six showed obvious symptoms of the disease when they were evaluated late last week, which strongly suggests they would not be contagious.
Tuberculosis is typically spread when a seriously ill person coughs up a large number of the bacteria in a closed environment. Overcrowded prisons, where inmates live bunk-to-bunk in rooms with poor air circulation, can make ideal breeding grounds for the disease. Tuberculosis is not spread through eating food or by surface contact, health care officials say.
Tuberculosis is one of the world's deadliest diseases, but the number of infections has declined dramatically in most developed countries. Mobile County typically reports 25 to 30 cases a year, but Jablecki said that his office has been dealing with a much higher number of cases so far in 2003.
Follow-up testing at work-release facility indicates number of active, and potentially contagious, cases is growing
08/12/03
By BILL FINCH
Environment Editor
Six more inmates at a Mobile work-release facility have abnormal chest X-rays, a strong indication that they may have active and potentially contagious cases of tuberculosis, according to health care workers.
In the weeks since an inmate at the facility quit his job at a local restaurant because of a full-blown case of tuberculosis, a total of eight other inmates have been identified as having "suspect" cases of the debilitating and sometimes fatal disease.
More than a third of the nearly 250 inmates at the facility have tested positive for tuberculosis infection, and have been prescribed a treatment to halt development of the contagious form of the disease.
But Joe Jablecki, Mobile's tuberculosis control coordinator, said health care workers are still trying to determine whether the eight "suspect" cases have advanced to a more severe or contagious stage of the disease.
If they have, health care workers said they would expand their tuberculosis investigation to include anyone the inmates came in contact with, including members of the general public at the inmates' work places.
Tuberculosis is typically spread through prolonged contact with infected people in enclosed spaces, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. Local officials say that co-workers might be vulnerable to infection, but business patrons generally would not be.
The case first came to light when health care offi cials began testing all employees at Barnhill's Buffet at Airport and University boulevards, where a contagious inmate worked in the kitchen.
One other person, who has merely been identified as an "employee" and a member of "the general public," is also suspected of having an active case of the disease in the wake of the inmate outbreak. On Saturday, prison officials said the employee did not work in the prison system.
Health officials said Monday that a "sputum" test to confirm the tuberculosis diagnosis in the six new suspected cases was delayed, because the inmates had already left for their workplaces before the prison system could be informed of the results of the X-rays.
Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett said the warden at the work-release facility was informed of the results at about 9:45 a.m. Monday.
Both health care and prison officials refused to release the names of the places where the inmates worked, citing patient confidentiality rules and concerns about fairness to employees. Health officials also said that it was "not yet a matter of public concern," since it was not yet confirmed that the inmates were infectious.
The two inmates whose "suspect" cases were identified early last week are still being evaluated to determine whether they have active tuberculosis, but a preliminary sputum test indicated that those inmates were probably not contagious, according to Nancy Keenon, the state's tuberculosis control coordinator.
Keenon and Jablecki also said that the one-day delay in the sputum test for the other six suspect cases did not pose a serious additional threat to the general public or co-workers. Jablecki said that none of the six showed obvious symptoms of the disease when they were evaluated late last week, which strongly suggests they would not be contagious.
Tuberculosis is typically spread when a seriously ill person coughs up a large number of the bacteria in a closed environment. Overcrowded prisons, where inmates live bunk-to-bunk in rooms with poor air circulation, can make ideal breeding grounds for the disease. Tuberculosis is not spread through eating food or by surface contact, health care officials say.
Tuberculosis is one of the world's deadliest diseases, but the number of infections has declined dramatically in most developed countries. Mobile County typically reports 25 to 30 cases a year, but Jablecki said that his office has been dealing with a much higher number of cases so far in 2003.