Miaow
21-01-2008, 08:10
TB scare for newborns at hospital
By Carly Crawford
January 21, 2008 12:00pm
TWO dozen newborns are being screened for tuberculosis at the Monash Medical Centre after a boy was born with the contagious disease.
In a rare case that has stunned doctors, the boy was infected by his healthy mum in the womb.
The child, born late last year, has been quarantined from other newborns as staff perform blood tests on 25 babies.
About 100 health care workers from the hospital's Clayton campus are also being tested for the disease.
Tuberculosis, which commonly attacks the lungs, is usually spread through coughing and sneezing and can be fatal if left untreated.
Sufferers endure a relentless, bloody cough, fevers and heavy sweating.
The TB germ can lay dormant in a carrier and can be passed on during childbirth or in the womb as the fetus develops.
Experts say there are only 300 recorded cases worldwide of a child becoming infected in such a way.
Southern Health's infection control co-ordinator, Rhonda Stuart, said the boy's mother had been unaware she was carrying the bacteria, apparently in her pelvis bone.
She was not suffering from the active form of the disease.
"This is a highly unusual case and mum has had no symptoms to suggest that," Dr Stuart said.
"She was perfectly well."
Dr Stuart said congenital tuberculosis was rare.
"I personally haven't seen this before.
"There are only about 300 cases in the literature."
Those who are infected with active TB are contagious for about a fortnight and the disease is treated with a six to 12-month course of antibiotics.
Babies and the elderly are among the most vulnerable to the illness, which affects about 300 Victorians a year.
There have been at least nine cases reported to Victorian public health authorities already this month.
Monash has drawn up a list of workers and patients who were exposed to the sick child for eight hours or more.
"That may grow as people come forward," Dr Stuart said. "We're offering screening to anyone who wants to because of the concerns about TB."
Testing can only start about 10 weeks after infection because of the slow rate at which the germ develops.
Dr Stuart did not expect the testing to unearth more cases.
She said the baby's treatment was progressing well and the child was recovering in a negative-pressure room at the hospital.
His mother also remains in hospital.
A DHS spokesman said the case did not pose a public health risk and the agency was satisfied with the hospital's handling of the matter.
He said congenital TB was more common in developing countries
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23083034-662,00.html
By Carly Crawford
January 21, 2008 12:00pm
TWO dozen newborns are being screened for tuberculosis at the Monash Medical Centre after a boy was born with the contagious disease.
In a rare case that has stunned doctors, the boy was infected by his healthy mum in the womb.
The child, born late last year, has been quarantined from other newborns as staff perform blood tests on 25 babies.
About 100 health care workers from the hospital's Clayton campus are also being tested for the disease.
Tuberculosis, which commonly attacks the lungs, is usually spread through coughing and sneezing and can be fatal if left untreated.
Sufferers endure a relentless, bloody cough, fevers and heavy sweating.
The TB germ can lay dormant in a carrier and can be passed on during childbirth or in the womb as the fetus develops.
Experts say there are only 300 recorded cases worldwide of a child becoming infected in such a way.
Southern Health's infection control co-ordinator, Rhonda Stuart, said the boy's mother had been unaware she was carrying the bacteria, apparently in her pelvis bone.
She was not suffering from the active form of the disease.
"This is a highly unusual case and mum has had no symptoms to suggest that," Dr Stuart said.
"She was perfectly well."
Dr Stuart said congenital tuberculosis was rare.
"I personally haven't seen this before.
"There are only about 300 cases in the literature."
Those who are infected with active TB are contagious for about a fortnight and the disease is treated with a six to 12-month course of antibiotics.
Babies and the elderly are among the most vulnerable to the illness, which affects about 300 Victorians a year.
There have been at least nine cases reported to Victorian public health authorities already this month.
Monash has drawn up a list of workers and patients who were exposed to the sick child for eight hours or more.
"That may grow as people come forward," Dr Stuart said. "We're offering screening to anyone who wants to because of the concerns about TB."
Testing can only start about 10 weeks after infection because of the slow rate at which the germ develops.
Dr Stuart did not expect the testing to unearth more cases.
She said the baby's treatment was progressing well and the child was recovering in a negative-pressure room at the hospital.
His mother also remains in hospital.
A DHS spokesman said the case did not pose a public health risk and the agency was satisfied with the hospital's handling of the matter.
He said congenital TB was more common in developing countries
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23083034-662,00.html