Nebraska officials are currently testing over 500 children and staff at an Omaha area YMCA drop-in daycare center for possible exposure to tuberculosis after a confirmed case sparked a public health emergency.
The potential exposures at the Westview YMCA, located in the Omaha suburbs, would have occurred between May and late October. According to Health Director Lindsay Huse, the incubation period for tuberculosis ranges from two to 10 weeks.
The infected patient is currently undergoing treatment while isolating at home. On Monday, the individual tested positive, prompting officials to initiate a contact investigation at the Westview YMCA Childwatch, a daycare service offered to gym members for up to two hours. The scale of possible exposures is especially high due to the patient’s presence at this daycare facility, estimated to be around 500 individuals, a number that may change as more families and siblings are accounted for.
According to Huse, “It’s not unusual to find an active TB case, but what is unusual is just the size of exposure.”
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Health officials traced the onset of symptoms to a specific date and had to look back to May for potential infections. Huse explained that due to the number of people visiting the daycare center, it made tracing extremely challenging.
Exposure to tuberculosis requires individuals to be in a closely confined space for an extended duration, says Huse. She also mentioned how people can get infected through germs released when someone with tuberculosis coughs, speaks, or sneezes, leading to others inhaling the bacilli.
The symptoms of tuberculosis include persistent coughing, chest pain, coughing up blood, fatigue, fever, night sweats, and weight loss.
Young children under the age of four are considered high risk, necessitating immediate testing. Children’s Nebraska, a pediatric hospital in Omaha, planned to conduct clinics over the weekend to test approximately 250 children who may have been exposed. Treatment will be provided, and they will undergo retesting in 10 weeks.
In the upcoming days, the county plans to host clinics at the Westview YMCA to test an additional 350 people, identifying and treating latent infections to prevent it from becoming active.
The YMCA of Greater Omaha explained that electronic records of check-ins helped with contact tracing. The Westview YMCA temporarily closed while testing and noted there is no longer a risk of exposure at the center.
Rebecca Deterding, the local YMCA’s president and CEO, stated that steps have been taken to address the situation and everyone who may have been exposed has been identified and advised accordingly.
In 2022, the county health officials reported 15 tuberculosis cases, which increased to 15 by September of 2023. The CDC reported 8,300 cases of tuberculosis across the U.S. in 2022.
Historically, tuberculosis had high mortality rates in the U.S., but public health efforts have significantly reduced deaths and cases. Huse emphasized, “This is one of the vintage public health diseases. We have a lot of experience working on the prevention of spread and case investigations around this.”
Eduardo Cuevas covers health and breaking news for USA TODAY. He can be reached at [email protected].
