Press Release Archive
5.7.08 - TB Case Identified at Open Door Mission
TB Case Identified at Open Door MissionSome staff and clients at Omaha’s Open Door Mission are being tested for tuberculosis after a man who had been staying there was diagnosed with the disease, Douglas County Health Director Dr. Adi Pour said.
The Health Department:
Has already provided skin tests to all staff that were in contact with the individual at the shelter.
Worked closely with the Open Door Mission to identify the individuals who may have been exposed to the ill person.
Tonight and tomorrow night the department is providing skin testing to exposed contacts of the individual with TB disease.
Developed recommendations for the shelter in consultation with our medical advisor, state HHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The individual who has TB disease is undergoing treatment,” Dr. Pour said. “TB is not a disease that is easily spread from one person to another.”
The Open Door Mission in conjunction with DCHD has provided on-site education to staff and clients.
Some important facts about tuberculosis: TB is a treatable infection that is spread from person-to-person through the air; people who are infected but do not yet have the disease cannot pass it on to others; and tuberculosis is highly treatable with the right medicine.
Symptoms of TB disease include weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweat. People who have tuberculosis may be coughing for three weeks or longer, have chest pains and in some cases may be coughing blood.
“The Health Department is aggressively addressing this new case of TB,” Dr. Pour said. “The Department greatly appreciates the assistance the shelter has been providing us.”