State: Hundreds may have been exposed to TB at Wilmington care facility

More than 600 people at a Wilmington long-term care facility may have been exposed to tuberculosis for most of 2017, state health officials said Friday.  

From January to September 2017, hundreds of residents at the ManorCare Health Services Wilmington facility on Foulk Road may have been exposed to someone who had active tuberculosis, health officials said. 

So far in 2018, there have been seven confirmed cases of tuberculosis, health officials said. Nationally, the number of tuberculosis cases is declining in the United States. Delaware had 22 cases in 2015 and 16 cases in 2016 and 2017.

Tuberculosis — a potentially serious bacterial disease that attacks the lungs — can be easily spread by coughing, sneezing or laughing. It can affect any bodily organ, but is infectious when it occurs in the lungs or voice box, health officials said. 

Symptoms include a cough that last more than two weeks, fatigue, weakness, weight loss, fever and chills. Only people with symptoms can spread the disease. 

The disease is treatable and curable, typically by taking medication for several months.

In most cases of people who breathe in the bacteria, their bodies are able to fight it and stop it from growing. The bacteria will become inactive, but it can become active later. People with a latent TB infection cannot spread the bacteria to others. 

The Division of Public Health is providing free screenings and treatment to former residents and employees of the facility. Since 35 former staff and residents are living in seven other states, Delaware is coordinating with health departments in other states, officials said. 

For more information, call 866-408-1899 or go dhss.delaware.gov. 

Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or at mnewman@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @merenewman.