By Sharon Salyer
Herald Writer
An employee of the Tulalip Casino is being treated for tuberculosis and co-workers will be tested next month, however, Snohomish Health District officials say there’s no reason to believe the public has been exposed to the disease.
Dr. M. Ward Hinds, who heads the countywide public health agency, declined Tuesday to identify where the person being treated for tuberculosis worked. John McCoy, spokesman for The Tulalip Tribes, described the man as a non-Indian employee of the casino, which is on the reservation near Marysville.
"No other employee has come down with symptoms," McCoy said. "The risk is extremely small."
The patient, who is being treated with antibiotics, is "pretty close to coming back to work," McCoy said.
McCoy declined to say what the man’s job duties were, but said he did not work in the food preparation area. The area of the casino where he works is "extremely open and well-ventilated," McCoy said.
Hinds agreed, calling the building "a very large space with very good ventilation."
"That’s a very important consideration when it comes to risk of transmission," he explained.
For another person to get the disease from someone who has tuberculosis, "it generally requires that you occupy the same enclosed small space for several hours," Hinds said.
For that reason, "it’s very unlikely the public will need to be tested," Hinds said.
However, up to 100 co-workers of the employee and others who had close contact with him will be tested for the disease during the second week in June.
Tests can’t be conducted sooner because it takes 12 weeks between the time a person has been infected with tuberculosis and when the infection can be confirmed with a positive skin test, Hinds said.
"If we don’t find any significant risk evident in the people who had the closest contact, then there’s no reason to broaden the investigation," Hinds said.
Once people who are diagnosed with the disease begin treatment, their contagious period is limited, generally lasting a few weeks or less, the health district official said.
However, the patient’s treatment often continues for at least six months, taking three or more types of antibiotics.
In its most serious form, tuberculosis can destroy a large portion of lung tissue, severely inhibiting a person’s ability to breathe, Hinds said.
The public health agency investigates between 15 and 20 cases of tuberculosis in the county each year, he added.
You can call Herald Writer Sharon Salyer at 425-339-3486
or send e-mail to salyer@heraldnet.com.
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