Two health care workers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region were diagnosed with tuberculosis recently.
** One in five resettled Somali Muslims in Minnesota test positive for TB.
The region is home to thousands of East African migrants and refugees.
Breitbart.com reported, via Free Republic:
Two workers at Mercy Hospital and Abbot Northwestern Hospital, both located in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and owned by Allina Health, have been diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB).
“I can confirm that one hospital worker at Mercy Hospital and one hospital worker at Abbott Northwestern Hospital were diagnosed with active TB,” Allina Health Vice President of Marketing and Communications David Kanihan tells Breitbart News.
On Friday, Allina Health released the following statement:
In late May, Allina Health began notifying 141 people who had been patients at either Abbott Northwestern Hospital or Mercy Hospital earlier this year that they may have been exposed to tuberculosis (TB). At each location, we learned that a worker who helped deliver care had TB. We carefully and thoroughly reviewed records to identify patients who had been closely enough in contact with these workers to have a potential exposure to TB. All of these patients have or will receive a telephone call and letter notifying them of the exposure and advising them to seek medical attention if they have experienced any symptoms of TB, or to schedule a free blood test for TB at one of our clinics. Allina Health will pay for all testing and any necessary follow up treatment related to the potential exposure
We are very confident that we have identified and are contacting all patients who may have been exposed. Any former patient of either hospital can be confident that if we do not contact you, you are not at risk. Patient safety is our top priority, and we are sorry for any concern this has caused.
…The Minnesota Department of Health reported that in 2014, 73 percent of the 147 active cases of TB in Minnesota were foreign born.
