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More than 700 infants at an El Paso hospital have been exposed to tuberculosis by an employee infected with the disease, according to public health officials.
The city’s Department of Public Health initially released a statement Friday that said more than 700 patients and about 40 employees at Providence Memorial Hospital were exposed from September 2013 to August by the employee, who worked in the hospital’s nursery.
Officials later said the 700 patients were all infants.
Employment and medical records were reviewed to determine which infants and employees were exposed, officials said, but there was no indication how many of them may have actually contracted TB.
Dr. Hector Ocaranza, the health authority for El Paso County, says the hospital workers have been tested and officials are waiting on results.
Letters were sent Thursday to the parents of the infants directing them to undergo screenings.
Carrie Williams, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services, says the agency is assisting with screenings of the people who were exposed.
Agencies/Canadajournal
