A new case of rare TB was reported in the U.S. An Indian is now being treated at the National Institute of Health, after it was discovered she has a rare form of tuberculosis. There were only 63 cases ever discovered in the U.S. from 1993 to 2011 according to the CDC.
The patient’s name and exact origin has not been released to the public, in order to conform with patient privacy privilege. It is also not known if she is of Indian nationality or an Indian-American U.S. citizen.
It has been a long time since a new case of rare TB was reported in the U.S. Usually such forms of the disease are found in Asia, and most recently Europe with the influx of refugees from war thorn countries.
Officials have determined that the woman traveled at least through 3 states in before reporting to a hospital.
Authorities in these states are now working with the Disease Control and Prevention Center. Government Agents have analyzed the flight records and are now looking for any citizens that might of come in contact with the infected woman.
It is not sure if the woman transmitted the disease to anyone else, because TB is not always spread without prolonged contact.
The woman entered the U.S. 7 weeks ago, through the O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
It is not known on witch flight or who are the passengers at risk , since public officials have not released the flight manifest or made specific details public.
The patient is considered to be in stable condition and , resides in a specially build room in the NIH Clinical Center. The room si designed to hold patients with severe airborne viruses and Respiratory Infections.
XDR-TB is particularly resistant to antibiotics, but curable. 30 to 50 percent of cases are successfully cured.
The patients Survival chances depend on previous medical condition, immunology, specific body response to treatment.
XDR-TB is a lot more probable to appear if the patient had previously contracted TB and was not properly treated.
It is probable that India has several undiagnosed patients with XDR-TB due to low health coverage of the general population. India is also one of the countries that reported cases of this specific strain in recent years.
TB is a fatal condition if not properly treated. The disease affects the lungs and in some cases even other organs.
Symptoms include painful chronic cough, associated with blood or blood mixed mucus secretions.
Image Source: hbblusukan.hol.es
