Identity of woman not being revealed.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: A woman who contracted a rare and hardy form of tuberculosis is being treated at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, as federal and state health officials scramble to track down the hundreds of people who may have come in contact with her while she flew from India and on trips within the United States.
Officials at NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the woman has been diagnosed with an “extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis,” known as XDR-TB, that is “relatively rare” and is resistant to many medications typically used to treat TB.
The woman traveled to at least three states before she sought treatment from a U.S. doctor, reported NBC News. In April, the woman traveled from India via Chicago O’Hare International Airport. She also spent time in Missouri and Tennessee, the Washington Post further elaborated.
The woman is being treated in an isolation center at the NIH.
Despite the extreme nature of the tuberculosis being treated at NIH, the risk to the public is low according to a statement issued Monday by the CDC. Nonetheless, the agency said that it would obtain a flight manifest and notify other passengers.
“TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, shouts, or sings,” CDC says. “These bacteria can float in the air for several hours, depending on the environment. Persons who breathe in the air containing these TB bacteria can become infected.”
XDR-TB is rare in the United States, according to the New York Times. From 1993 to 2011, 63 cases were reported. Drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis are more common in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. Per the CDC, only about 30 percent to 50 percent of XDR-TB cases are cured while ordinary forms can almost always be remedied. XDR-TB is particularly dangerous for people with HIV infections or other conditions that weaken the immune system.