At least 700 babies at an El Paso hospital have been tested for tuberculosis after a worker tested positive for the disease.
The children were believed to have been exposed to the diseased worker while they were at a nursery in the Providence Memorial Hospital, between September 2013 and last month, CBS News reported.
“We took the date of first signs and symptoms [of the health care worker] and went back three months to determine who is considered ’exposed,’ ” said Armando Saldivar, a spokesman for the El Paso Department of Public Health, in the CBS News report.
Officials are investigating why the hospital worker became infected, Mr. Saldivar said, CBS News reported. The hospital wouldn’t say if any babies have tested positive, but a spokeswoman did specify that no other employees have been infected.
In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 10,000 cases of tuberculosis in the United States.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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