A deadly tuberculosis (TB) outbreak occurred at a California hotel housing homeless people, resulting in the death of one person and forcing city health officials to declare a public health emergency.
The alarming outbreak at an unnamed hotel infected 14 people, leading to the hospitalization of nine people, the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday. The identity of the deceased has not been released.
“The outbreak is currently limited to a distinct population and the risk to the general public is low,” city officials announced.
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The doctor examines the x-rays of a tuberculosis patient. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
“The at-risk population in this epidemic faces significant barriers to care, including homelessness and housing insecurity, mental illness, substance use, and serious medical comorbidities.”
Officials say the health emergency was announced to strengthen the city’s preparedness and capacity to respond to the outbreak.
Approximately 170 people were likely exposed to TB and the Ministry of Health is screening contacts for TB through symptom screening, blood or skin tests and chest X-rays.
The Ministry of Health says it expects the number of cases and contacts to increase and those with active TB or latent TB infection will receive treatment.
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This 2006 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes tuberculosis. (Janice Carr/CDC/AP)
Health officials say the name of the hotel is being withheld to protect patient privacy and to comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations. The property is a private hotel not operated or contracted by the City of Long Beach.
Tuberculosis is spread by airborne particles and usually affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body such as the kidneys, spine and brain. It’s not as contagious as COVID.
“You can get TB if someone coughs, sneezes or is in close contact. The bacteria from these particles spread through the air and anyone nearby breathes it in and that’s how they contract it and that’s it. This is how she catches it,” Dr. Janette. Nesheiwat, a double board certified physician based in New York, recently told Fox News Digital.
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Tuberculosis under the microscope and a migrant shelter in Chicago. Chicago health officials announced last month that a “small number” of tuberculosis (TB) cases had been reported at some of the city’s migrant centers. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images, right, NIH/NAID/IMAGE.FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, top left, BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty.. .
