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| Ariz. Co. Jail Inmate with TB Possibly Exposed Up to 300 |
| By Arizona Republic |
| Published: 06/19/2003 |
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A Maricopa County jail inmate diagnosed with active tuberculosis may have come into contact with up to 300 people while at Tent City. The man may have infected at least one other inmate, officials said. 'We are still checking out contacts and testing,' county health department spokesman Doug Hauth said. 'I don't know how many people have come into contact with them.' Both men, whose identities were not released, were housed in a work furlough program where inmates leave to work during the day and return to Tent City at night. The case was confirmed June 3. Hauth said the man was removed from the jail population and hospitalized when it was suspected he had the disease May 29. Tuberculosis is a highly contagious, infectious disease spread from person to person through the air. Officials on June 9 could not confirm how long the infected man had the disease, nor could they say how long both inmates had been in jail. A second inmate, who slept near the ill man, also displayed symptoms, but officials have not confirmed the disease. He also was removed from the jail population. Hauth said that because the men were sleeping in an 'open tent with lots of air flow' their risk for contracting the disease was lowered. The county sees about 174 tuberculosis cases a year. 'Every so often, we have so many people in and out of the system, we do receive cases,' sheriff's Lt. J.J. Tuttle said. 'It happens, mainly for drugs possession or trafficking, make that highly unlikely. |
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