SAN DIEGO (CNS) - San Diego County's public health department is working with Father Joe's Villages and the San Diego Rescue Mission Wednesday to notify residents, employees and volunteers who may have potentially been exposed to tuberculosis.
The dates of potential exposure at Father Joe's Villages Paul Mirabile Center are from Feb. 14 to March 18, and from April 6 to May 7. Dates of potential exposure at the San Diego Rescue Mission South County Lighthouse are from March 28 to April 11.
"There is no evidence of an outbreak at this time or that previously announced exposures at shelters operated by Father Joe's Villages are related to the above-mentioned exposures," a statement from the county read.
Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan, the county's public health officer, said that symptoms of tuberculosis include persistent cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss.
"Most people who become infected after exposure to tuberculosis do not get sick right away," he said. "This is called latent TB infection. Some who become infected with tuberculosis will become ill in the future, sometimes even years later, if their latent TB infection is not treated. For people who think they may have been exposed, blood tests and skin tests are an effective way to determine an infection."
TB is an airborne disease that is transmitted from person-to-person through inhalation of the bacteria from the air. People with frequent and prolonged indoor exposure to a person who is sick with TB should get tested.
According to the county, people experiencing homelessness are at increased risk for TB for a variety of reasons. These include a higher risk for exposure to another person with active TB in large congregate settings, challenges regarding access to healthcare and the presence of certain medical conditions that may be more common and/or severe among people experiencing homelessness.
In the region, most people who are diagnosed with TB have not been recently homeless, however the rate of the disease is much higher among people who have experienced homelessness.
Those who don't have symptoms but test positive for TB are likely to have a latent TB infection and were advised to get a chest X-ray and talk to a medical provider, the county said.
TB cases in San Diego County have been on the rise since 2020. In 2020, there were 193 TB cases, 201 in 2021, 208 in 2022 and 242 in 2023. In 2024, a total of 247 people were reported with active TB disease in San Diego County. County health officials said an estimated 175,000 in the county have latent TB infections and said that without treatment, 5% to 10% of those people are at risk of developing active TB disease.
Copyright 2025, City News Service, Inc.
