A hospital spokesperson confirmed in a follow-up email that four patients had been diagnosed with tuberculosis. The spokesperson would only say the four had been seen “in the past quarter,” citing medical privacy laws.
“Good Samaritan Hospital has treated a small number of patients who have been diagnosed with tuberculosis,” the hospital said in a statement. “Our obligation is to diagnose and treat these patients, we have done so and they have been released. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health oversees follow up and tracking and we have been in communication with them regarding these patients.”
Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton recently treated four people for tuberculosis, and there are about 10 active cases of the disease among city residents, officials said Thursday.
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A state DPH spokesperson referred questions to Brockton Board of Health officials.
Dr. Eno Mondesir, director of Brockton’s Board of Health, said Thursday via email that his office is currently aware of “about 10 active” cases of tuberculosis among city residents.
“These cases are NOT related (therefore, they do not [meet] … the definition of an outbreak); furthermore, the 10 or so cases receive care from multiple healthcare facilities throughout the State,” Mondesir wrote.
Mayor Robert F. Sullivan’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
The CDC website says tuberculosis is caused by a bacteria that normally attacks the lungs but can also target “any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain.”
The website says that not everyone infected becomes sick, but if “not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.”
Symptoms can include a bad cough lasting three weeks or more, chest pain, coughing up blood or phlegm, weakness or fatigue, weight loss, appetite loss, chills, fever, or night sweats, according to the CDC.
The disease is spread “through the air from one person to another,” the CDC says. “When a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, speaks, or sings, TB bacteria can get into the air. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.”
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The agency says tuberculosis carriers “are most likely to spread it to people they spend time with every day. This includes family members, friends, and coworkers or schoolmates.”
This breaking news story will be updated when more information becomes available.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.
A Brockton hospital recently treated four people for tuberculosis; city has about 10 active cases, officials say
