SAN DIEGO (CNS) — Health officials today announced that members who used one of the 14 YMCA branches in San Diego County may be exposed to tuberculosis.
Most exposures occurred from 9-11 am. between March 5 and Oct. 30, 2023, at the Mission Valley YMCA at 5505 Friars Road, according to the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency.
Members who may have had the longest cumulative duration of exposure during those periods were notified individually, and all members and staff who were exposed received broader notification.
"The number of people diagnosed with active TB in San Diego County has decreased since the early 1990s and has stabilized in recent years. There were 192 cases in 2020 and 201 people reported with active disease in 2021. In 2022, 208 people were reported with active TB disease in San Diego County. An estimated 175,000 people in San Diego County have latent TB infection and are at risk for developing active TB without preventive treatment,'' county officials said in a statement.
Tuberculosis, an airborne disease, is transmitted from person to person through inhalation of the bacteria from the air. The chance of infection is higher for people with prolonged indoor exposure to a person who is sick.
County officials said brief interactions with people with contagious tuberculosis are less likely to lead to an infection than prolonged or repeated exposures.
People with active tuberculosis, also known as TB, are often unaware they have the disease and may be contagious for several months before being diagnosed.
Once the county is made aware, typically through a test result reported by a medical provider, communicable disease investigators conduct extensive interviews with the person with TB to determine the length of time they were infected and locations where exposures may have occurred, according to the County of San Diego Communications Office.
"Symptoms of active TB include persistent cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss,'' said County Public Health Officer Wilma Wooten, M.D.
Affected members and employees are advised to consult with their medical provider or contact the county's TB Control Program.
People who test positive for TB but who don't have active symptoms are advised by county officials to get a chest x-ray and talk to a medical provider, as a latent TB infection could be possible. People in this situation are infected with TB, but the infection is dormant or "sleeping."
Taking medicines for latent TB infection can cure the infection and keep people from becoming deathly ill.
"Most people who become infected after exposure to tuberculosis do not get sick right away. This is called latent TB infection," Wooten said. "Some who become infected with TB will become ill in the future, sometimes even years later, if their latent TB infection is not treated. Blood tests and skin tests are effective to determine whether someone has been infected."
County officials said individuals with symptoms of active TB and those who are immune-compromised are advised to seek a medical provider to rule- out active tuberculosis and to discuss treatment. More information regarding the exposure can be found by calling the TB Control Program at 619-692-5565.
