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SC: 2013 TB outbreak at a Greenwood Co. school

Shiloh

Shiloh

Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/22...ood-co-students-to-be-tested-for-tuberculosis


DHEC: Some Greenwood Co. students to be tested for tuberculosis
Posted: May 28, 2013 4:00 PM EDT Updated: May 28, 2013 4:29 PM EDT
By Casey Vaughn - email

GREENWOOD, SC (FOX Carolina) -

Some students at a Greenwood County school will be tested for tuberculosis after someone connected to the school tested positive for the disease, according to state health officials...
 
Re: SC: TB case at a Greenwood Co. school

Re: SC: TB case at a Greenwood Co. school

Source: http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/22476616/dhec-issues-public-health-order-in-tuberculosis-case


DHEC issues public health order in Ninety Six tuberculosis case
Posted: Jun 01, 2013 2:05 PM EDT Updated: Jun 01, 2013 2:45 PM EDT
By Erika Kent

NINETY SIX, SC (FOX Carolina) -

DHEC has issued a public health order to the person at the center of the tuberculosis case in the town of Ninety Six.

In the health order, the person with the virus was ordered by DHEC to comply with certain directives after refusing to cooperate.

A press released from DHEC states some employees lost their jobs and others are being disciplined for their handling of the case...

***********

Source: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20130531/wire/130539925

DHEC staffers fired over tuberculosis case at Greenwood County school
The Associated Press
Published: Friday, May 31, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, May 31, 2013 at 10:14 a.m.

GREENWOOD ? Staff members of the state's Department of Health and Environmental Control have been fired over their handling of the tuberculosis case at a Greenwood County school, the department's director said Thursday.

Director Catherine Templeton also said some staffers will face disciplinary action for their handling of the case...
 
Re: SC: TB case at a Greenwood Co. school

Re: SC: TB case at a Greenwood Co. school

Source: http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/apexchange/2013/06/05/sc--tuberculosis-outbreak.html



DHEC: Dozens in SC infected with tuberculosis
Wednesday June 5, 2013 1:00 AM
By MEG KINNARD

The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? Dozens of people have been infected as part of a tuberculosis outbreak centered at a South Carolina school, state health officials said Tuesday.

During a news conference in Greenwood, Department of Health and Environmental Control director Catherine Templeton said that 58 people at Ninety Six Primary School had a positive skin test for exposure to tuberculosis. That means they are carrying the bacteria but aren't sickened by it...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.wspa.com/story/22441509/...-at-greenwood-county-school?clienttype=mobile


SC Dealing With TB Outbreak - At least 58 Exposed, 8 With Disease
State health officials say the state of South Carolina is dealing with a tuberculosis outbreak.

Updated: June 4, 2013

State health officials say the state of South Carolina is dealing with a tuberculosis outbreak.

Fifty eight people have tested positive for exposure to tuberculosis at Ninety Six Primary School in Greenwood County.

State Department of Health and Environmental Control Director Catherine Templeton tells 7 On Your Side eight of those students have the disease. However, they are not contagious according to an infectious disease specialist. Those eight cases were confirmed through an x-ray.

DHEC says the students who need treatment will be given three medications for 6 months. The others who have been exposed will be given one medication for 9 months.

Templeton says the original person who was infected has an unusually contagious form of TB. That person has not been cooperative with investigators, she explains to Community Watchdog reporter Gordon Dill.

The infectious disease specialist says he doesn't think there are any more carriers who have the infectious form of the disease, but it's uncertain because they aren't sure who else was in contact with the original carrier...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/22513937/dhec-2nd-upstate-adult-has-infectious-tuberculosis


DHEC: 2nd Upstate adult has infectious tuberculosis
Posted: Jun 05, 2013 5:45 PM EDT Updated: Jun 05, 2013 5:55 PM EDT
By Casey Vaughn - email

NINETY SIX, SC (FOX Carolina) -

A second adult connected to a Greenwood County school has tested positive for the infectious tuberculosis disease, according to state officials.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control said on Wednesday that a second Ninety Six Primary School employee's X-ray results showed they have an infectious case of the disease.

DHEC is requiring that person to stay at home and they have begun treatment for TB, DHEC spokesman Mark Plowden said.

Plowden said DHEC is now offering TB skin tests to anyone who spent time in any buildings on the school's campus. The agency recommends anyone who spent time in the school's two classroom buildings be tested. The tests will be free of charge, DHEC said...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Interesting on several levels.

I wonder if there are further details regarding the "index" case who is so uncooperative. What was their job? How are they being uncooperative? What have local health officials done throughout their handling of this person.

I am on our Board of Health and feel that the most difficult part of this incident would be this uncooperative person.
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.indexjournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=40&ArticleID=19045

6/7/2013 4:06:00 PM
DHEC says TB infection occurred before agency notified

By MICHELLE LAXER

Anyone infected with tuberculosis (TB) germ in the outbreak centered on Ninety Six Primary School was infected by March 8, the Department of Health and Environmental Control announced Friday.

"The damage was done before the case was even referred to DHEC," Dr. Richard Ervin, a DHEC infectious disease specialist, said in a release.
DHEC nurses went to the primary school May 31 to test all staff and students for TB exposure and nurses returned to read tests Monday. Since then, DHEC continued contacting and offering testing for individuals the agency thinks are at risk.

As of Friday's update, DHEC tested 591 people with TB skin tests.
Of those, 63 people came back with positive TB skin tests. This means they were infected with the germ. They are not sick and are not contagious...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.wnem.com/story/22527828/...st-and-last-time-about-tb-outbreak-ninety-six

Greenwood Co. school board speaks about TB outbreak
Posted: Jun 07, 2013 1:08 AM EDT Updated: Jun 07, 2013 9:39 AM EDT
By Dana Wachter - bio | email


NINETY SIX, SC (FOX Carolina) -

Amidst the release of new developments revealed in the Greenwood County tuberculosis (TB) outbreak, the local school board discussed the health issues at their board meeting...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://gwdtoday.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=25656

/7/2013 6:00:00 PM
DHEC calls Ninety Six TB outbreak a 'massive investigation'
Brian King
Staff Writer

NINETY SIX ? The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said Friday that the Ninety Six tuberculosis outbreak is a ?massive investigation? and ?will not be over quickly.?

DHEC released a statement Friday, less than 24 hours after District 52 held an impromptu public forum blaming the failure in notification on the state?s health agency. Petersen said in his opening statement that he wished to ?speak to the unfortunate events surrounding the notification to the district by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental that students at Ninety Six Primary School may have been exposed to tuberculosis.?

Petersen said that the board meeting would be the last time he would speak publicly about the TB outbreak.

On Friday, DHEC spoke to the ?unfortunate events? as well...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Man at center of TB outbreak 'was very nice'

Jun. 15, 2013 8:13 AM

GREENWOOD -- The man with the immaculate brick house and the expansive lawn liked nothing better than strolling the property on warm spring days or having family members over to visit his home on weekends.

He didn?t spend time with many of his neighbors, but he never seemed unfriendly either, often waving or talking across the fence surrounding his house in the city of Greenwood, neighbors said this week.

Now, the man?s neighbors are trying to make sense of an unfolding health drama that involves his potential role in spreading tuberculosis to nearly 100 schoolchildren, educators and others ? an outbreak that is among the worst since 2003 in South Carolina.

A little more than a week ago, sheriff?s deputies whisked the man to Columbia and put him in a medical detention center for what could be months.
...
State health officials say the TB patient ? whom they have declined to name for medical privacy reasons ? forced them to take drastic measures because he would not cooperate and stay home while contagious. They say they are trying to get him well and halt the spread of TB.
...
The man has in recent years worked as a janitor at Ninety Six Primary School, where the tuberculosis germ has infected more than 50 children from kindergarten through second grade, records show.
...

Full text:
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20130615/NEWS10/306150014/
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.thestate.com/2013/06/27/2838281/infected-greenwood-tb-patient.html

Infected Greenwood TB patient visited public places, record shows
Published: June 27, 2013
By SAMMY FRETWELL ? sfretwell@thestate.com

Within days of learning he had tested positive for tuberculosis, the prime suspect in a state disease investigation visited a grocery store and a home improvement warehouse ? despite orders to stay home so others in Greenwood County would not become infected, according to an email released Thursday as part of a lawsuit...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20...C-nurses-file-lawsuits-in-wake-of-TB-outbreak

Two more former DHEC nurses file lawsuits in wake of TB outbreak
By Kim Kimzey
kim.kimzey@shj.com
Published: Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 5:43 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 5:43 p.m.

Two more nurses fired after a tuberculosis outbreak at Ninety Six Primary School have filed lawsuits against the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Spartanburg-based attorney John Reckenbeil represents the three nurses formerly employed with DHEC. Earlier this month, Malinda Martin of Spartanburg filed a lawsuit against the agency claiming wrongful termination...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/22754034/lawsuit-alleges-dhec-employee-tried-to-profit-from


Lawsuit alleges DHEC employee tried to profit from TB outbreak
Posted: Jul 03, 2013 12:52 PM EDT Updated: Jul 03, 2013 2:41 PM EDT
By Casey Vaughn - email

GREENWOOD, SC (FOX Carolina) -

An amended complaint filed against the state health department and one of its employees alleges that the employee tried to profit from an Upstate outbreak of tuberculosis...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.thestate.com/2013/07/10/2856357/2nd-dhec-worker-tied-to-tb-consulting.html

2nd DHEC worker tied to TB consulting firm
Published: July 10, 2013
By SAMMY FRETWELL ? sfretwell@thestate.com

COLUMBIA, SC ? A state nurse with a key role in an infectious disease investigation helped start a private consulting company that some ex-workers blame for slowing down the tuberculosis probe in rural Greenwood County northwest of Columbia...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/07/12/2575373/ex-dhec-worker-say-kids-put-at.html

Ex-DHEC worker says kids put at risk by agency inaction
Published: July 12, 2013 Updated 5 hours ago
By SAMMY FRETWELL ? sfretwell@thestate.com

COLUMBIA, SC ? A former state health department nurse says children were put at ?extreme risk? when the agency?s headquarters office failed to move rapidly on a tuberculosis threat in Greenwood County, where more than 50 young students have been infected.

Malinda Martin spoke out Thursday to say that she and regional staff members pleaded with the department?s Columbia office to let them test schoolchildren for tuberculosis in mid-April but were rebuffed by higher-level officials...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/07/16/2580241/botched-tb-probe-sparks-call-for.html

Botched TB probe sparks call for hearing
Published: July 16, 2013 Updated 6 hours ago
By SAMMY FRETWELL ? sfretwell@thestate.com

COLUMBIA, SC ? A heavily criticized state probe of disease at a small-town school sparked a call Tuesday for legislative hearings in Greenwood County, where more than 50 children have been infected with tuberculosis germs.

Democratic state Sens. Floyd Nicholson and Brad Hutto want to know why the Department of Health and Environmental Control waited two months to test school children for the disease and why their parents were not informed about the threat sooner...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.thestate.com/2013/07/15/2863660/dhecs-director-says-health-agencybotched.html

DHEC?s director says health agency botched Greenwood County TB probe
Published: July 15, 2013 Updated 19 hours ago
By SAMMY FRETWELL ? sfretwell@thestate.com

The state health department?s chief said Monday her agency botched an investigation of tuberculosis in Greenwood County, endangered the public and left people in the dark as an infected man roamed the small community of Ninety Six.

Catherine Templeton, director at the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, said the department?s poor response is why she dismissed key agency staff members who were involved in the disease probe...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324263404578614252276295678.html



July 18, 2013, 7:42 p.m. ET

Response to TB Outbreak in South Carolina Raises Questions
Health Officials Scramble to Explain Delays in Notification and Testing at Rural School
By VALERIE BAUERLEIN and BETSY MCKAY

South Carolina health officials are under fire for a delayed response to a tuberculosis outbreak at a rural elementary school in which hundreds of people were exposed to the contagious airborne disease, including 465 children who weren't tested until nearly three months after local nurses discovered the outbreak....
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.fitsnews.com/2013/08/05/about-that-tb-outbreak/

About That TB Outbreak

People have been hounding us for weeks to write more extensively on a recent outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) in Greenwood, S.C.

For those of you keeping score at home, seventy-four people have tested positive for the disease ? an airborne strain of mycobacteria which attacks the lungs. Of those, twelve have shown abnormal chest X-ray readings ? signifying an active infection. All seventy-four cases are linked to the Ninety Six Primary School, which hired a janitor who was infected with the disease...
 
Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Re: SC: TB cases at a Greenwood Co. school- dozens test positive

Source: http://www.indexjournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=40&ArticleID=20091

/7/2013
DHEC: Patient had TB before
Templeton: 'Index patient' was not tested prior to employment
By MICHELLE LAXER


The "index patient" at the center of the Ninety Six tuberculosis (TB) outbreak was exposed to the germ before coming to work at Ninety Six Primary School and was not tested for TB when first hired, alleges the leader of the state Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC)...

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Source: http://www.indexjournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=40&ArticleID=20092


8/7/2013
Committee to hear testimony on DHEC's response
By SCOTT J. BRYAN


The state Senate's Medical Affairs Committee will convene at 1 p.m. Thursday to hear testimony about the state Department of Health and Environmental Control's (DHEC) response to a tuberculosis outbreak in Ninety Six.
The meeting is scheduled for the Gressette Building in Room 308 at the State House. The meeting is open to the public...
 
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