TUBERCULOSIS: Chicago outbreak

The number of active cases of tuberculosis in Kane County stemming from an outbreak at an Aurora homeless shelter now stands at 17 following a recent screening. The discovery of new cases has health officials preparing for a long period of monitoring to ensure the outbreak doesn't become widespread in the community at large.
A few weeks ago the county screened almost 260 people served by the Hesed House. Test results show 89 people screened had a latent, noncontagious form of the infection in addition to four newly discovered active cases.
"This is not a surprise to us," Kane County Health Department Executive Director Paul Kuehnert said. "This is actually the percentage we expected in the homeless population."
Part of the spread of the infection is being attributed to a ventilation system at the homeless shelter. Tuberculosis is a contagious bacterial infection mainly affecting the lungs, but it can spread to other organs.
The county has instituted an active preventive screening system at the shelter to protect against new infections. Homeless people found with either form of the infection are receiving daily drug treatments. The county plans to do additional mass screenings every 12 weeks until no new cases are discovered. The concentration, for now, is on Hesed House, but the county plans on working with all homeless shelters in the county to institute screenings, Kuehnert said.
Early detection is a key to preventing the spread of the infection, Kuehnert said. Although the 89 cases of the noncontagious form of tuberculosis sounds like a lot, Kuehnert said it is the version health officials prefer to see.
Active forms of the infection require lengthy periods of isolation in addition to the drug treatments. Untreated tuberculosis can be lethal.
"These 89 people cannot spread the infection, so they don't have to be isolated," Kuehnert said. "And that does help us on the overall cost of addressing this."
Kuehnert said he expects it may take as long as two years before the tuberculosis screenings reveal no new cases.
The Kane County outbreak comes at a time when the rest of the state is reporting a record low in new tuberculosis cases.
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