500 may be exposed to tuberculosis at Omaha childcare center

The Douglas County Health Department was notified of the case by the patient’s health care provider on Monday, said Justin Frederick, the department’s deputy director. The patient tested positive for a bacterial infection over the weekend.

Frederick said the number of potential cases and the fact that young children are involved (the center cares for children from 3 months to 12 years old) led to a complex multi-agency response. Said to be causing it.

“Young children are at higher risk for severe disease,” he says. “Our goal and mission is therefore to prevent further cases of tuberculosis and ensure that they are quickly detected and treated.”

Although the possible infection could have occurred from late May to October 30, health officials have determined that the patient was most contagious from mid-August to late October, he said. Ta.

Based on this, the health department worked with the YMCA to identify two groups. One is the group at highest risk of developing the disease, with a possible infection approximately within the past 10 weeks, and the other is a lower risk group, with a probability of infection starting in late May and ending in August. had. .twenty one.

The YMCA, located south of Bennington near 156th and Ida streets, sent an email Thursday to parents and guardians of children who use the center. Those potentially exposed were advised of next steps to take. People who were not believed to have been exposed were told there was no need to take action. A parent meeting was scheduled for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the YMCA.

Close contact includes being in the same room as a sick person, but does not include brief contact in hallways, restrooms, or gyms.

Health officials said all children who may have been infected between May 30 and October 30 should be tested for tuberculosis and treated if they test positive.

However, children under the age of 4 who were infected between Aug. 21 and Oct. 30 should also receive preventive antibiotic treatment, Frederick said. Young children are more likely to progress to active disease faster than older children and adults, and they can develop latent disease that may take many years to develop, if active disease appears at all.

Children’s Nebraska will hold clinics Saturday and Sunday to test and evaluate more than 200 children under the age of 4 who are believed to have been exposed over the past 10 weeks.

He said the health department held a clinic at the YMCA every Wednesday through Friday from Nov. 15 to Nov. 17, and treated more than 350 children with confirmed cases between late May and Aug. 21. They say they plan to test the staff.

Department of Health Director Lindsay Hughes also plans to declare a public health emergency, which will give the department access to additional resources. Such measures are not the same as directed health measures and do not affect other people in the community.

Frederick said Health Department officials have consulted with experts from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who are calling the study the largest tuberculosis study in the Midwest.

“In my opinion, this is a true public health emergency in that it has the potential to actually cause widespread disease,” he said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tuberculosis is a disease caused by airborne bacteria that is spread by coughing, sneezing, or talking. It cannot be spread by kissing, shaking hands, or sharing food or drinks.

This bacterium usually affects the lungs, but can attack any part of the body, including the kidneys, spine, and brain.

Symptoms include a cough that lasts for more than three weeks, chest pain, and coughing up blood or mucus. Other symptoms include weakness or fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, chills, and fever.

But Frederick emphasized that tuberculosis is treatable. Frederick said the department is investigating all active cases reported in the county. 15 cases have been reported so far this year, and 15 cases last year. More than 8,300 cases were reported in the United States last year, according to the CDC.