SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego County health officials say Metropolitan Transit System Trolley riders may have been exposed to tuberculosis throughout the second half of 2022.
The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency and MTS officials are notifying people who used the trolley's blue and orange lines between June 30, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2022, to inform them they were potentially exposed to TB and are at risk for infection.
The following routes were affected, according to the county's press release:
- Trolley Blue Line from San Ysidro to 12th & Imperial Transit Center Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.
- Trolley Orange Line from 12th & Imperial to El Cajon Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 7 a.m.
- Trolley Orange Line from El Cajon to 12th & Imperial Monday through Friday roughly between 5:45 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.
- Trolley Blue Line from 12th & Imperial to San Ysidro Transit Center Monday through Friday roughly between 6:15 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.
People who actively have TB usually don't know they have the disease, and they can spread it for several months before an official diagnosis, the HHSA Public Health Services Department says.
"Once the County is made aware, typically through a test result reported by a medical provider, communicable disease investigators conduct extensive interviews with the patient to determine the length of time they were infected and the locations of potential exposure," the county's press release says. "This is done to best inform people who may have been exposed and the action they should take."
If you rode on one of the routes listed above during the latter half of 2022, health experts recommend reaching out to your medical provider or contacting the county's TB program.
Tuberculosis is transmitted between people if they inhale the bacteria from the air. When someone sick with the airborne disease coughs, speaks, sings or breathes, the bacteria spread. If you have had prolonged indoor exposure to someone who is sick with TB, you should get tested, health experts say.
County health officials say they reported two other MTS riders diagnosed with TB in August and September 2022; however, there is no evidence directly linking the most recent rider's TB diagnosis to the other MTS riders at this time.
HHSA says more lab testing will be done to see if there is a link between those riders.
Active TB symptoms include a persistent cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss, says Anikta Kadakia, M.D., County Deputy Public Health Officer. Kadakia went on to say most people who are infected after a TB exposure do not get sick immediately.
"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. Blood tests and skin tests are effective to determine whether someone has been infected," the health officer says.
In 2022, 208 people were diagnosed with TB in San Diego County.
"The number of people diagnosed with active TB in San Diego County has decreased since the early 1990s and has stabilized in recent years," the release says.
Health experts estimate 175,000 people in the county have latent TB infections that could develop into active TB if they don't get preventive treatment.
If you would like more information about the potential exposure, or what steps to take if you test positive for TB, reach out to the County TB Control Program at 619-692-8621.
