Grant County TB case requires long-term care

MOSES LAKE - The Grant County Board of Health heard recently that, at the end of December, a resident of King County but predominantly of Grant County was diagnosed with TB and was hospitalized in Seattle.

The patient also has two other reportable diseases, according to Dr. Alexander Brzezny, Grant County Health District health officer.

The patient will be on medication for at least six months and possibly nine months. The patient is receiving Direct Observed Therapy, which needs to be administered daily, including weekends and holidays.

Brzezny believes this will be a challenging case. Contacts of the patient are being investigated to see if there are any other infections or exposures.

Brzezny has announced a media blitz regarding the arrival of the seasonal influenza which is peaking three to four weeks earlier than usual. Three quarters of the U.S. is reporting it in epidemic proportions.

The Health District has sent out two releases, one to the schools and the other to healthcare providers. Peak season is usually in late January and early February.

The west side of Washington State is seeing a higher number of cases than the east side. According to the most recent report there have been approximately 40 deaths so far.

The Health District continues to see new cases of Pertussis. There have been two or three since the beginning of the year. Brzezny pointed out on his Communicable Disease report that there were 55-59 cases reported this year compared to around 47 last year.

Vaccinations are still the best opportunity to prevent the disease. The Health District is still offering free Tdap immunizations for adults in its Moses Lake office for those who have no insurance.

Also on the CD Report, the numbers show that Chlamydia has increased approximately 12-13 percent. There were 284 cases in 2011 compared to 334 in 2012. Also Gonorrhea increased from 22 in 2011 to 50 in 2012.

This indicates the resistance and strength of the diseases, Brzezny said. It appears the numbers were down in December. However sometimes reporting can be delayed, distorting the actual number of cases per month.

In other Health District news, administrator Jeff Ketchel said a letter was sent to food establishments that use septic systems, informing them that staff will be enforcing an ordinance that requires an annual inspection of the septic system.

This is to prevent premature failure of the system and costly repairs to the owners, Ketchel said. He stated that there are no additional fees paid to the Health District.

Ketchel reported that the Health District has applied for an STD and pregnancy prevention grant for two sites. The Health District would receive $15,000 per site. The funds would provide training for a Health Educator and a Public Health Nurse who would then present the curriculum to the schools with the higher STD and pregnancy numbers.

Ketchel said the Health District has done an assessment on neighborhood stores on the availability of tobacco and alcohol in Moses Lake and Quincy. That report will be presented at the Regional World Health Conference in Spokane.