Extreme TB: Health Officials Work Frantically To Stop Potential Spread Of Rare Form Of Tuberculosis

A case of “extreme TB” or tuberculosis, has left health officials in Illinois scrambling to find individuals a woman with a rare case of the disease may have come in contact with after she became ill. The woman has both a deadly and hard-to-treat form of tuberculosis, according to health officials.

The woman with the extreme TB may have come in contact with hundreds of people. She reportedly has a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis. The deadly form of the disease is known as XDR-TB. Illinois health officials are reportedly working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to locate and alert individuals the female patient may have had “prolonged direct contact” with in “close quarters.”

Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria which spread through the air and then from person to person. The disease usually affects the lungs and often leads to chest pain and coughing up blood. Individuals can have TB for weeks before they become “acutely ill.” Tuberculosis has been on the decline in the United States for many years, but is the cause of 1.5 million deaths and 9 million illnesses globally each year. Approximately three to four cases of TB are reported in America annually.

TB is not as easily spread as diseases like the flu or measles, health officials maintain. Tuberculosis is still regarded as both a dangerous and contagious illness. TB can be especially harmful for individuals with weakened immune systems, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.

The woman with extreme TB reportedly flew from India to the United States in April, and arrived into the country at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The tuberculosis patient then reportedly spent time in Missouri, Tennessee, and Illinois before becoming ill. She was admitted to an isolation unit at a Chicago hospital for treatment approximately seven weeks after arriving in America. She has reportedly been transferred to the National Institutes of Health hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, and being housed in a specialized isolation room for patients with respiratory issues.

The CDC has not released the identity of the extreme TB patient and has not noted either her age or nationality.

“Besides concerns about community contacts, the patient flew from India to the United States. CDC will obtain the passenger manifest for that flight from the airline and will begin a contact investigation,” a release from the health agency said. “Although the risk of getting a contagious disease on an airplane is low, public health officers sometimes need to find and alert travelers who may have been exposed to an ill passenger.”

The extreme TB patient is reportedly facing months and even years of treatment. There is reportedly a 30 to 50 percent cure rate for this type of tuberculosis. Some inflicted patients have had “pockets” of infection surgically removed from their bodies.

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