66 inmates may be exposed to tuberculosis

Sixty-six inmates in the King County Jail system are being screened for tuberculosis after an inmate was diagnosed with infectious TB.

The infected inmate came in contact with other inmates and staff between Nov. 20, when he was admitted to the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, and March 1, when he was determined to be infectious, a King County health department spokesman said.

The inmate has been receiving antibiotic treatment in the jail infirmary, spokesman James Apa said, and is not at risk of infecting others.

Public-health officials are figuring out which staff members were exposed enough to the infected inmate to require screening, Apa said. There is no indication at this point that staff were infected.

Unlike flu, TB is not transmitted by touching tables and other objects that an infected person has touched. It typically takes repeated and prolonged exposure in confined space to become infected, Apa said. Even in households with a contagious TB case, only about 1 in 3 close household contacts become infected.

Treatment for infectious TB takes up to nine months. A patient may be no longer infectious before the end of treatment, but he or she must complete the entire course to be cured.

TB usually affects the lungs, but it can impact lymph nodes, bones, joints and other parts of the body, Apa said.

In King County, 98 new cases of TB disease were reported in 2015. On average, two cases of TB disease are diagnosed in King County each week.

This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 8:17 PM with the headline "66 inmates may be exposed to tuberculosis."