TUBERCULOSIS: Michigan

A rare case of tuberculosis has Lenawee County Health Department officials busy testing circles of family members and co-workers who could now be carrying the bacteria even if they do not have the disease.The tuberculosis case confirmed earlier this month sparked a discussion at Wednesday’s county health board meeting on the department’s role in supervising treatment of tuberculosis patients.It is only the second tuberculosis case in Lenawee County since 2004.“This used to ravage this country. It used to ravage the world,” Dr. Dennis Chernin, Lenawee County medical director, said.Diagnosed patients are now closely supervised during the treatment process to ensure they are cured, Chernin said. People who had prolonged contact with patients are identified and tested to stop the disease from spreading.“It’s one of the classic public health roles,” Chernin said. “It’s one of the really important things we do.”Where the current Lenawee County patient was infected with tuberculosis has not been determined, he said. People can be infected with the bacteria and carry it for years, he said, before a weakening of the immune system or something else allows the disease to take hold.Weight loss and a bloody cough are the most common symptoms, and are what triggered a report of a possible infection by the patient’s physician, Chernin said. A DNA probe used by the Michigan Department of Community Health was used to confirm and identify the strain of tuberculosis within 24 hours
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