SAN DIEGO -- A worker at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa tested positive for tuberculosis, prompting county health officials Friday to begin notifying patients, visitors and other employees who may have been exposed.

Letters are being sent out to notify 545 patients who were potentially exposed to the disease, according to the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.

The exposure risk is limited to individuals who worked or visited one patient care floor of the hospital's West Tower between Oct. 4 and Jan. 20, between the hours of 7:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m., according to the HHSA.

"HHSA is working closely with the hospital to notify the individuals who may have been exposed," said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, deputy county public health officer.

"TB is treatable and curable," he said. "Most people who are exposed do not develop the disease, but we recommend that they speak with their health care provider about getting tested to be sure."

Sharp Grossmont officials told the HHSA the infected worker had an intermittent cough and did not show full symptoms of active TB until late January.

The employee stopped working after visiting a doctor, who suspected TB to be the cause of illness, officials said. The hospital worker tested positive for TB earlier this month.