More than 90 inmates at a Mobile work-release facility have tested positive for TB, and health officials said they are still investigating how another inmate developed an active case of the disease. The investigation began in July, when a work-release inmate who had been working at a restaurant became seriously ill. Joe Jablecki, TB control coordinator for Mobile County, said he is optimistic that none of the other cases will prove to be active. He said health officials did not detect symptoms of active TB in a preliminary screening. Most of the restaurant's other employees have been tested, and seven will undergo drug treatment as a result of showing signs of exposure to the disease. Department of Corrections officials said prisoners are tested for TB when they enter the system and each year thereafter. They said they are trying to determine how the inmate's active case escaped notice for so long.

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