The Alabama Department of Public Health is asking people who have worked in certain Alabama poultry plants to get tested for tuberculosis (TB).
TB is a type of bacteria that is usually spread from one infected person’s lungs to another’s through activities such as talking or coughing. The department said disease is not transmitted in food.
People who are infected with TB can be very sick or may have no symptoms. TB is treated using antibiotics and is almost always cured. People infected with TB can also be offered a preventive treatment.
ADPH said in a press release that people who are working or who have worked with the poultry industry in Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence or Lauderdale counties from June 2022 to the present should be screened for the disease.
At least seven cases of confirmed or suspected TB disease have been identified in individuals who have worked in one or more of these poultry plants.
As people who work in these plants are frequently in close contact with one another, ADPH cautions that these individuals may have been or currently be at risk for contracting TB.
Dr. Wes Stubblefield is a district medical officer with ADPH. He said that there is no cause for concern among the general Alabama population and that the outbreak is isolated.
“We want people to understand that the general public are at very low risk for this. Tuberculosis tends to cause outbreaks with people that are in close proximity to people that are sick. So, if people are in the risk group that's been defined, and those people would be people who may have worked in the poultry industry,” said Dr. Stubblefield.
ADPH is offering free screening in the form of a blood test. Alabamians who are at risk can get tested at the Lawrence County Health Department on August 14th and the Franklin County Health Department on August 17th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A $20 gift card will be given to qualified individuals who complete the testing.
TB is a contagious disease, but there is effective testing and treatment for those who have been infected. For more information, visit the ADPH website.
