Department of Health Announces Tuberculosis Test Results

Department of Health Announces Tuberculosis Test Results (Clovis, N.M.) – The New Mexico Department of Health has received test results for 85 people who were exposed to a man with active, infectious tuberculosis (TB) in Clovis. Five individuals tested positive for non-contagious TB infection. The Department of Health will offer those individuals treatment. Due to patient privacy laws, the Department cannot release any more information about the people who tested positive. The five positive test results represent six percent of those tested in this contact investigation. The CDC reports that during TB investigations such as this one, an average of 20 to 30 percent of individuals test positive. Tuberculosis is treatable and curable once the individual is given the correct antibiotics and the transmission risk subsides once this happens. Tuberculosis is an airborne disease caused by germs that are spread through the air from person to person when an infectious person coughs, talks, laughs or sings. There are two TB related conditions: active infectious TB disease and non-contagious TB infection. Active infectious TB disease is contagious and may be potentially transmitted to others. This will be the final update involving this investigation This important to Dairy in the area.