Steps outlined by AHS after confirmed TB case
Alberta Health Services says it wants people to understand it’s taking all prudent steps to deal with a case of tuberculosis in the South Zone.
Medical officer of health Dr. Vivien Suttorp told reporters while 55 people have been notified in writing of their potential exposure, it does not mean all 55 will get the disease. Suttorp addressed the case during a news conference Thursday, July 5, one day after AHS first notified the public as a matter of transparency.
Few details are being released about the patient, including their location in the South Zone. AHS had initially said the patient works at a food processing plant. Suttorp said tuberculosis cannot be spread through food or inanimate objects, only through the air.
“There are very stringent guidelines around management of tuberculosis when there is an active case,” Suttorp explained, adding they work their way through people who may have had contact with the patient, to detect “sleeping” TB.