Apr 13, 2009 (CIDRAP News) - A 26-year-old pediatric resident working in Chicago was diagnosed as having tuberculosis (TB) on Apr 7 and might have exposed patients at three area hospitals to the disease, the Chicago Tribune reported on Apr 11.
None of the woman's patients or coworkers have so far been diagnosed with TB. Though the three hospitals have said the risk to patients is "minimal," they are contacting patients who were exposed to the resident. Northwestern Memorial Hospital said in an Apr 10 press release that at least 17 patientssome of them women who delivered babieswere exposed to the woman at its Prentice Women's Hospital between Nov 3 and 19, 2008, and that another 100 may have received care from her.
Evanston Hospital said today that a limited number of patients and staff in the facility's special infant care unit were potentially exposed to the doctor between Feb 11 and Mar 12. She most recently worked at Children's Memorial Hospital, where hospital officials said she had contact with at least 150 children and more than 300 workers, the Tribune reported.
Susan Gerber, MD, chief medical officer of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said the woman's infection was "susceptible and sensitive" to treatment and that health officials are investigating a trip she made as a medical student in late 2007 to an HIV clinic in Botswana.
[Apr 11 Chicago Tribune story]
[Apr 10 Northwestern Memorial Hospital press release]
[Apr 13 Evanston Hospital press release]
