State Declares Public Health Emergency After TB Outbreak

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Most have never had or even known someone with what used to be deadly diseases like measles, tuberculosis, etc. Unfortunately, in places like Chicago and California, that is no longer true.

According to Live Science, the city of Long Beach, California, has even had to declare a state of emergency because of recent outbreaks.
As the outlet reports, so far, one person has died, and another nine have been hospitalized after contracting tuberculosis or TB in the city.

As of April 29, 14 active TB cases have been discovered. So far, all cases have been linked to one single-room occupancy hotel. The name of the hotel has not been disclosed, supposedly for the sake of the patient’s privacy.

Long Beach city officials, including health officer Dr. Anissa Davis, say that “People who were staying at the hotel at the time or could have otherwise been exposed have been or will be contacted by the Health Department” to be monitored for possible symptoms.

The statement admitted that so far, “staff have identified approximately 170 people who have likely been exposed to TB.”

Now, the good news is that just because you’ve been exposed doesn’t mean you will get it.

For starters, exposure usually needs to be rather extensive to pass it on. Additionally, the microbe that causes TB can be dormant in a person without ever showing symptoms. According to Live Science, only between 5 and 10 percent of people with the bacteria ever actually develop the disease.

However, there is always a risk, as the disease is spread through the air particles.

And in places like California, that risk is only growing as migrant populations move in and, for the most part, are never tested for any medical conditions, let alone deadly ones like tuberculosis.

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