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U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
News Briefs
New Hampshire: TB Case Confirmed on Seacoast, Health Officials Say
October 10, 2002 New Hampshire officials have confirmed a case of tuberculosis in a Portsmouth restaurant worker from the Seacoast. The person was probably infected years ago, but only recently began showing symptoms, state epidemiologist Dr. Jesse Greenblatt said. "The individual was born in another country that has a higher rate of tuberculosis than the US. I'm making the educated guess that this person was infected as a child," he said. The patient is being treated with multiple antibiotics. The person worked in several Portsmouth-area restaurants, but there is no evidence so far that customers were affected, Greenblatt said. New Hampshire's Department of Health and Human Services is testing the person's family members and co-workers for TB. If any of the TB tests are positive, the state will issue more information, he said, but if the tests are negative, the patient probably was not contagious. Ten to 25 cases of TB are reported in New Hampshire each year, according the Greenblatt.
Excerpted from:Back to other CDC news for October 10, 2002 Associated Press 10.07.02 This article was provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update. |