The employee worked in the post-partum and newborn nursery at the hospital, meaning the patients exposed to TB were newborns. The exposure took place between September 2013 and August 2014.
As of Sept. 19, 706 patients and 43 exposed employees have been indentified. The hospital has worked with the Department of Public Health to review employment and medical records to determine who was exposed. Families of every exposed patient have been contacted via telephone and with a letter that provides screening instructions.
A person with active TB spreads the disease through coughs and sneezes, but close contact over an extended period of time is usually necessary to spread the disease, according to the Department of Public Health.
According to an El Paso Times report, Providence Memorial screens employees for TB annually, but the employee in this case exhibited symptoms after the screening.
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