The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the source of a second nationwide tuberculosis outbreak on Thursday.
Two tuberculosis (TB) patients were identified by the CDC in early July 2023, following surgical procedures to their spines. The procedures used allografts, which contained live cells from the same deceased donor. The patients subsequently contracted the disease, with at least one experiencing symptoms of meningitis five weeks following the surgery.
A separate health department then alerted the CDC to a positive test for TB in another patient who had a persistent surgical site infection. Clinicians from both health departments noted the similarities between their patients and a 2021 outbreak of TB and both asked the CDC to investigate.
But July 14, a further 36 patients were confirmed to have undergone procedures using at least one “unit of product” (presumably what the CDC calls bits of people). The allograft was confirmed as the transmission source.
University Of California, Davis, Starts Contact Tracing As Student Contracts Tuberculosis | @DailyCaller
Right as it erupts in NYC too… weird https://t.co/FSvY8Zy3t6
— KAY SMYTHE (@KaySmythe) December 22, 2023
TB can be both active and inactive, according to the CDC. In active patients, TB presents with symptoms like coughs that last for more than three weeks and contain sputum or blood. Weakness and fatigue are common, as well as chest pains, fever, loss of appetite, night sweats, weight loss and chills. In inactive TB patients, there are no symptoms and the patient cannot spread the disease to others. (RELATED: Hundreds Reportedly Sickened In Raleigh, North Carolina, Amid Disease Outbreak)
The CDC is calling for improved donor screenings and culture-based testing to prevent situations like this from happening again. It’s unclear why this isn’t already part of standard practice enforced by the CDC.
The agency went above and beyond to ensure that all Americans received the COVID-19 vaccine so as to avoid a supposed winter of suffering and death. It would make sense for donor screenings to be treated with the same urgency, wouldn’t it?