The State : Infection Cuts TB Services

Services at the Santa Clara County tuberculosis clinic were sharply cut back after county officials learned that poor ventilation may have caused a clinic worker to become infected with TB bacteria. The worker apparently became infected in the clinic’s sputum room, where patients cough up spittle samples for TB testing. The worker, whose identity was not revealed, tested positive for tubercle bacillus but is not contagious, officials said. Drug treatment should prevent him from developing tuberculosis, said county public health officer Dr. Stephen Coray. The ventilation problem developed last year after the clinic moved back into a renovated basement of a county building. The problem was caused by a fan that operated only when the clinic’s thermostat was turned up, county officials said.