350 infants may have been exposed to tuberculosis at California hospital

That employee, who worked in the area of the newborn nursery, was placed on leave.

The infants and mothers potentially exposed were in the medical center’s Mother & Infant Care Center between mid-August and mid-November, hospital officials said. Hospital officials said they had identified all patients, staff members and visitors who might have been exposed, and were contacting each one.

SCVMC will provide both diagnostic testing and preventative daily treatments of isoniazid, an antibiotic that kills TB and can successfully prevent infants from becoming ill.

“We’re confident we’re addressing the situation with great speed”, he said. Dr. Stephen Harris, head of pediatrics at VMC, spoke at an afternoon teleconference on Friday, and the San Jose Mercury News quoted him as saying: “While the risk of actual infection is low, the consequences of tuberculosis infection in infants can be very severe”.

The infected nurse was tested in September but the results were negative.

TB is treated with antibiotics for prolonged periods.

Of the infants affected, the oldest were a little over three months old and the youngest could be between three to four weeks old.

Visits for screenings and treatment will begin Monday, Harris said. Only active TB can be spread. “It’s incredibly common for any individual to have inactive TB”.

In fact, the nurse passed the hospital’s annual TB screening in September, Harris said. She was not sneezing or coughing, two ways the disease is spread, hospital officials said. It is believed that the employee is not terribly contagious since she does not exhibit symptoms and has no cough.

Tuberculosis was once the leading cause of death in the U.S. It is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis that targets the lungs.

“This incident is an unfortunate reminder that TB remains an ongoing health concern for our community”, said Dr. Sara Cody, Health Officer. “There’s a number of reasons for that”. The cost will be picked up by the medical center, which is owned and operated by the county.

Harris said the staff “had to very carefully evaluate risks and benefits”, when coming up with a treatment for the infants. Here in California, health officials say T.B. Rates are twice as high as the nation’s average because the state receives so many global travelers. Tom?