TUBERCULOSIS: North Dakota

August 27 2010
FARGO – A Sanford Health doctor was recently diagnosed with tuberculosis, or TB, the hospital announced this afternoon.
At least 77 patients and 43 employees may have been exposed from July 1 to Aug. 16. Sanford will offer free evaluations and testing to these individulas.
The doctor was not named in the release. At the time the doctor was tested, there was no indication he or she had active TB, the Sanford statement says.
The hospital plans to address media through interviews with Dennis Millirons, president of Sanford Medical Center.
The hospital is partnering with the North Dakota Department of Health to ensure the safety of patients, employees and the public, the statement says.
A very small number of people exposed actively are infected with TB, the statement says.

TB remains a major cause of illness and death worldwide, especially in Africa and Asia. Every year tuberculosis kills almost 2 million people. Since the 1980s, rates of TB have increased, fueled by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the emergence of drug-resistant strains of the TB bacteria.
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