Indiana: TB Infections Found at Sapula Plant

At Bartlett-Collins Indiana Glass Plant in Sapula, Okla., 125 of the 499 employees given TB skin tests have tested positive for the infection. This infection rate is not surprising, said Dr. Jon Tillinghast, state TB control officer. Foreign-born workers at the factory were probably infected before coming to the United States, he said. The tests were ordered after a case of TB was confirmed in a plant employee. Workers with a positive skin test will be given chest X-rays, and a sputum test will be given to identify any TB case if necessary. Infected workers will receive antibiotics and vitamins and can resume normal work, as they are not contagious. Only those with TB disease have to be isolated while undergoing treatment. "What I know about the original case points to that person not being that contagious to other persons," Tillinghast said.

Back to other CDC news for July 1, 2003

Previous Updates | Search the CDC archive