|
December 30, 2009
Port Alberni – An active case of Tuberculosis has been confirmed in the Port Alberni area, bringing to 45 the total number of cases in the region since an outbreak was declared in October 2006.
“This is the first active case diagnosed since January 2009,” says VIHA Medical Health Officer Dr. Charmaine Enns. “This serves as a reminder that the outbreak is not over. Any resident who has been notified by public health officials that they have been in close contact with someone with active TB disease is urged to follow up on recommendations for completing screening for TB. This is usually a skin test and/or a chest x-ray.”
For a healthy person, TB disease is hard to catch, and the vast majority of individuals who test positive for exposure to TB never develop active disease.
Symptoms of active TB are persistent cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, fever, night sweats and weight loss. Anyone exhibiting these symptoms can call the Port Alberni Health Unit at 250-731-1322, or contact their family physician.
Since May 2006, more than three-thousand individuals in the Port Alberni area have been screened for TB, and 45 active cases of TB have been reported.
– 30 –
BACKGROUNDER: Tuberculosis and the Port Alberni Outbreak (PDF)
Media Contact:
VIHA Communications media pager
250-389-7317 |
|