Tuberculosis :: Gold Coast patients to be screened for tuberculosis

Australian Queensland Health reports 500 staff and patients from the Gold Coast Hospital may be screened for tuberculosis after a hospital employee was diagnosed with the TB disease.

Queensland Health announced the diagnosis yesterday but refused to release details of the infected health worker.

Australia has one of the lowest instances of TB in the world and cases are usually limited to those born overseas, prompting speculation the patient could be an overseas trained medico brought in to prop up Queensland’s troubled health system.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is primarily an infection of the lungs, but any organ system is susceptible, so its manifestations may be varied. Effective therapy and methods of control and prevention of tuberculosis have been developed, but the disease remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity throughout the world. The treatment of tuberculosis has been complicated by the emergence of drug-resistant organisms, including multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis, especially in those with HIV infection.


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