Dozens of police officers and sheriff’s deputies in Pueblo County will be tested for tuberculosis after they likely came in contact with a 71-year-old man who was infected with active pulmonary TB.
Chris Nevin-Woods, director of the Pueblo County Health Department, said that between 60 and 100 people will be tested in the coming weeks to determine whether they contracted the illness.
At least 60 law-enforcement officers or medical personnel who work at the Pueblo County Jail will be tested. Others include employees and patrons at the soup kitchen and La Posada, an agency that helps Pueblo’s homeless.
Nevin-Woods said the man, who was not identified because of medical privacy laws, received a tuberculosis skin test while he was at the Pueblo County Jail in October. That test was positive, so he received a chest X-ray. After receiving results of the X-ray, jail personnel notified the health department. By that time, the man had been released from jail.
A public health nurse tracked him down, and he went to a local hospital for treatment and remains there in isolation, Nevin-Woods said.
She said that public health nurses are trying to determine how long the man had active tuberculosis, which is contagious.
Nurses are trying to contact individuals who likely came in contact with him.
Erin Emery: 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com
