While the rate of TB is much higher among people who have experienced homelessness, 90% of people in the county who are diagnosed with TB have not been recently homeless, officials said.
San Diego County public health officials were notifying people who may have been at Father Joe's Villages sites from mid-January to early March they may have been exposed to tuberculosis, a serious lung bacteria infection that can lead to death.
The county said person tested recently tested positive for tuberculosis and may have used several services at Father Joe's Villages, including the inclement weather shelter, the San Diego Day Center, food services, employment and education services, and Village Health Center. The case prompted county health officials Tuesday to notify staff, volunteers and clients they may have been exposed to the disease between Jan. 14 to March 3.
TB is an airborne disease that is transmitted from person-to-person through inhalation of the bacteria from the air, the county said. People with active tuberculosis are often unaware they have the disease and may be contagious for several months before being diagnosed. Most people who are exposed to TB do not become infected.
"Symptoms of active TB include persistent cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, county public health officer."Most people who become infected after exposure to tuberculosis do not get sick right away.Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters. "This is called latent TB infection," she said."Some who become infected with tuberculosis will become ill in the future, sometimes even years later, if their latent TB infection is not treated. Blood tests and skin tests are effective to determine whether someone has been infected.
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