KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Health officials are investigating a small number - less than 10 - of confirmed tuberculosis cases in Wyandotte County.
Officials from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Public Health Department at the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, and Kansas City, Kansas, are monitoring the patients with confirmed cases of the disease.
The agencies, which are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, describe the risk to the general public as “minimal.”
Patients are being monitored to make sure they are receiving appropriate care and prevent further spread of the disease by investigating close contacts and further testing.
Tuberculosis spreads through prolonged contact and is most commonly found in the lungs. It’s spread through the air in a way similar to the common cold and the flu. When an infected person coughs, speaks or sings, the bacteria can be released in to the air.
Health officials say it’s not spread by “kissing, shaking hands, sharing food, drink or toothbrushes, or by touching objects like bed linens or toilet seats.”
General symptoms include sickness or weakness, fever, night sweats, coughing, chest pain or coughing up blood.
“Anyone experiencing these symptoms or who feel strongly that they may have been infected with TB, recently or many years ago, should contact their primary care physician or other trained medical professional,” the agencies said in a press release Wednesday morning.
Additional information about tuberculosis is available online (https://www.cdc.gov/tb/default.htm?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery).
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