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National & World Ag News Headlines
Workers in Processing Plant Being Infected with Tuberculosis
USAgNet - 05/03/2005

A screening of 222 workers at a Tyson chicken processing plant in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, revealed that 41 were infected with tuberculosis, the Oklahoma State Health Department said. The health department sais the infections did not poise any danger to consumers.

Health workers began testing workers at the plant after a worker there was diagnosed with the tuberculosis.

"Initially, I think they selected 18 individuals to test that had the closest amount of contact with the infected individual and they found about half of those to be infected," Oklahoma's Tuberculosis Control Officer Dr. Jon Tillinghast commented. "So they expanded the numbers of individuals to be screened."

Health workers said it was possible that some of the infected workers were exposed years ago from unrelated cases, and were not diagnosed until now. Tillinghast said that tuberculosis is generally treated with six-months of antibiotic treatment.