State: Hundreds may have been exposed to tuberculosis at Brandywine Hundred care facility

More than 600 people at a Brandywine Hundred long-term care facility may have been exposed to tuberculosis for most of 2017, Delaware health officials said Friday.  

From January to September 2017, hundreds of residents at the ManorCare Health Services Wilmington facility on Foulk Road may have been exposed to someone who had active tuberculosis, health officials said.

State officials declined to say if the person was a patient, worker or visitor, saying a Delaware law prevents them from identifying who it is. 

So far in 2018, there have been seven confirmed cases of active tuberculosis in Delaware, health officials said. Only one of those cases is related to the exposure at ManorCare, and it was the individual who may have exposed hundreds to the disease, health officials said. 

Nationally, the number of tuberculosis cases is declining in the United States. Delaware had 22 cases in 2015 and 16 cases in 2016 and 2017.

Tuberculosis — a potentially serious bacterial disease that attacks the lungs — can be easily spread by coughing, sneezing or laughing. It can affect any bodily organ, but it is infectious when it occurs in the lungs or voice box, health officials said. 

Symptoms include a cough that lasts more than two weeks, fatigue, weakness, weight loss, fever and chills. Only people with symptoms can spread the disease. 

The disease is treatable and curable, typically by taking medication for several months.

In most cases of people who breathe in the bacteria, their bodies are able to fight it and stop it from growing. The bacteria will become inactive, but it can become active later. People with a latent TB infection cannot spread the bacteria to others. 

State health officials said they were notified in April of the "large scale exposure." The person who had active tuberculosis first started showing some symptoms in May 2017, but at the time, it was associated with another condition, health officials said.

The person was informed about having TB when they sought treatment at a medical facility in April 2018. Tests showed the person had the disease. 

Kelly Kesler, a spokeswoman for ManorCare Health Services, issued a statement that said as soon as the center was notified, it tested patients and employees.

"We continue to work closely with local health care authorities and feel there is no risk at the center," the statement said.   

The Division of Public Health is providing free screenings and treatment to former residents and employees of the facility. Because 35 former staff and residents are living in seven other states, Delaware is coordinating with health departments in other states, officials said. 

The Health Department has set up a call center that will be taking questions from concerned residents starting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. The number to call is (866) 408-1899.

For more information, go to dhss.delaware.gov. 

DELAWARE HEALTH 

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Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or at mnewman@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @merenewman.