CDC
This illustration depicts drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria that cause tuberculosis.
CNN —
Nebraska health officials are conducting tests on hundreds of preschoolers for tuberculosis after an active case was confirmed at a daycare in Douglas County.
The Douglas County Health Department declared a public health emergency after more than 500 people were possibly exposed to the disease.
The exposures may have occurred at the Westview YMCA drop-in daycare from late spring into late October, according to the agency.
“The Douglas County Health Department is investigating the patient’s activities while they were contagious to learn of potential exposures, helping the patient isolate, and observing them complete their medication until they test negative for TB,” the health department said in a public message. “DCHD also is working to notify parents of children and anyone else who had close contact with the patient.”
According to the agency, parents or guardians of children who may have been exposed received an email on November 8.
Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection usually found in the lungs and can cause coughing, chest pain, and fever, characterized by coughing up blood or mucus.
It can spread when someone has developed symptoms, coughs, or breathes out the bacteria, especially in an enclosed area for a long period of time.
The disease is curable, often treated with a standardized course of drugs which usually includes antibacterial medicines, according to the World Health Organization.
Each year, about 10 million people fall ill with tuberculosis and about 1.5 million people die.
