Hundreds of patients in Illinois exposed to TB
A medical residents on hospital rotations unknowingly exposes hundreds of patients to TB; o far, no one has tested positive for the disease
A healthcare worker in Chicago may have unknowingly exposed patients and staff in three hospitals to tuberculosis, U.S. News reports, quoting hospital officials. The worker, a medical resident, had done rotations in three hospitals in the area, possibly exposing 450 people at one institution, 17 at another, and 100 at a third over the past several months. Health officials are taking precautions, including testing those who might have been exposed and possibly giving the most vulnerable-such as infants-preventive antibiotics, ABCNews.com reported. So far, no one has tested positive for the disease.
Earlier this month, researchers said a new antibiotic might shorten by several months the arduous drug regimen currently used to treat TB.
