Associated Press (05.23.12) - Thursday, May 24, 2012
An individual diagnosed with active TB late last week had
visited the neonatal units of Sutter Memorial Hospital in
Sacramento during the last half of March and NorthBay Medical
Center in Fairfield in early and mid-April, officials said
Wednesday.
The Solano County resident only recently began showing
symptoms, said Dr. Olivia Kasirye, chief public health officer
for Sacramento County. The TB patient is receiving treatment
in isolation. The individual was not a hospital employee or a
health care worker.
Access to neonatal units is tightly controlled. "We knew who
the person was and the person was certainly there for a
reason," said Steve Huddleston, a NorthBay spokesperson.
Kasirye said records are available for everyone who entered
the units, so the hospitals have identified those persons who
potentially may have been exposed.
Since the babies in the units are already in a vulnerable
state, most will likely be placed on antibiotics to kill the
bacteria and prevent the development of active disease, said
Dr. Michael Stacey, chief medical officer for Solano County.
Any adults who may have been exposed will be screened - both
for their own safety and to assess how infectious the patient
was at the time, he added. Initial tests do not indicate a
drug-resistant form of TB.