TB case suspected in Grant County

MOSES LAKE — The Grant County Health District is investigating a suspected case of tuberculosis in the county.

According to Heather Massey, public information officer for the health district, the possible case came to the attention of county health officials about a week ago.

However, county officials are still waiting for tests to confirm whether or not this is actually tuberculosis.

“We’ve been investigating this for a little more than a week,” Massey said. “We grabbed samples, but it takes four, six, eight weeks to grow those samples. So, we’re taking precautions.”

Massey said those precautions involve treating any suspected case as an actual case. The suspected case was “treated at several healthcare facilities in Grant County during the course of the illness,” and is currently “not moving around within the community,” Massey said.

Massey, who would give no details about the person suspected of being infected, added the patient is currently receiving daily visits from a home health nurse to ensure that they are taking their medication.

Because tuberculosis is a highly contagious, airborne disease, the Health District is also working with health officials in Adams and Lincoln counties to notify the roughly 200 people the patient has been in contact with.

“We have a legal obligation to make contact,” Massey said.

Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease that primarily affects the lungs, though it can affect other organs as well. Symptoms include a cough that persists for more than weeks, coughing up blood, fevers and night sweats, fatigue and chest pain, loss of appetite and unintentional weight loss. It can be easily spread by coughing and sneezing.

While tuberculosis is now fairly rare in the industrialized West, it is still common throughout much of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Treatment for tuberculosis includes a thorough course of antibiotics taken exactly as prescribed. However, in the last few decades, strains of antibiotic resistant tuberculosis have arisen, making the disease as dangerous as it was

Massey said the health department does not know where the patient may have been exposed, and does not know if international travel was involved.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.