Fresno County man has rare type of tuberculosisBy Barbara Anderson / The Fresno Bee10/07/08 10:52:55
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A Fresno County man has been diagnosed with a rare and difficult-to-treat case of tuberculosis, a county health official confirmed this morning.

It is the first case of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in Fresno County, said Dr. Kenneth Bird, deputy health officer and TB control officer for Fresno County. It is believed to be the fourth such case in California this year.

The patient is being treated in an isolation room at a local hospital, and appears to be improving, Bird said. Treatment could take weeks or months, he said.
Extensively drug resistant tuberculosis is a rare form of the lung disease and is resistant to almost all drugs used to treat it. Successful treatment is possible in about 30% of such cases, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tuberculosis germs can be spread when a person with an active infection in the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes or speaks. Tuberculosis can eat away at the lining of the lungs. Left untreated, it can be fatal.

Bird declined to identify the patient, provide his age or hometown, or say where he is being treated. He said the man is from a population that is typically at high risk of tuberculosis. Such populations include immigrants and the homeless. Bird said the patient is not homeless.

The man was diagnosed with tuberculosis in early August, Bird said. But health officials did not identify it as the extremely drug-resistant strain until late September. By then, it had reached an advanced stage, Bird said.

Fresno County health officials believe only members of the patient's household have been potentially exposed. Health officials suspect one household member -- a young child -- also may have tuberculosis, although they have had difficulty confirming the infection or determining what type of tuberculosis it might be.

Bird said health officials do not believe the public at large is at increased risk because of this one infection.

Tuberculosis symptoms include feeling sick or weak, weight loss, fever, night sweats, persistent cough, chest pain and coughing up blood.