Kansas: $13,000 Grant Aids County in Treating TB

The state Department of Health and Environment has awarded a $13,000 grant to help the Sedgwick County Health Department fight TB, said Cindy Burbach, county division director of health protection and promotion. The funds will help pay for X-rays and treatment for patients with little or no insurance. The county has recorded 21 active TB cases this year, one more than last year, Burbach said.

"A lot of cases are foreign-born because they brought it from other countries where they were infected but not sick," said Burbach. They do not get sick with active TB until their immune system deteriorates, she said. "But we've got a lot of people on the street, foreigners, people from here originally [and] people who have HIV or AIDS that we're treating too."

For every active TB case confirmed, county health officials have to track down and test about a dozen people who had prolonged exposure with the infected person, Burbach said.

"We have to get ahead of the curve and make sure they don't become active cases. Every time we get an active case, we have to test everyone they came into contact with. Then we have to treat them," Burbach said.

Back to other news for December 5, 2006