Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Sure Glad We Got Rid Of That Stinkin' TB Standard

TB's not a problem anymore. Nope. Not at all. Don't need no stinkin' OSHA standard.

TB surge strains agency

TB is not the scourge that once killed and disabled millions of Americans. But it did kill 25 North Carolinians in 2003, the last year for which statistics are available.

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Durham County had only 10 new TB cases in 2003. But that number jumped to 27 last year, resulting in a recent plea from Letourneau to the County Commissioners for two additional health department nurses trained to conduct the case hunting needed to prevent an epidemic.

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Tuberculosis probed at fourth hospital

Riverside County health officials are investigating exposure to tuberculosis at a fourth hospital, authorities said Wednesday.

Officials were already notifying people about possible tuberculosis exposure at three other hospitals in western Riverside County. Efforts are under way to determine how many more people need to be tested for possible exposure, said Barbara Cole, chief of the county's disease-control program.