Dive Brief:

• Unknowingly infected with Tuberculosis (TB), a healthcare worker in Detroit exposed hundreds of patients and staff to the bacterial disease. This included about 560 dental patients between Aug 1. 2013 and Dec. 17, 2013.
• The employee worked at four Detroit medical facilities and multiple hospitals before being diagnosed.
• Officials in Michigan are investigating the incident and working with the affected medical facilities.
• TB is a bacterial disease of the lungs that is transmitted when an infected individual coughs or sneezes. It is not spread through interactions like shaking hands. In 2012, the CDC only recorded 9,945 confirmed cases of TB, 149 of which were in Michigan.

Dive Insight:

Although TB is a rarity in the US, there are a number of other viruses and bacteria, such as Staphylococcus, that routinely infect patients and staff at healthcare facilities. According to the CDC, "about 1 in every 20 hospitalized patients [in the US] has an infection caused by receiving medical care." Prevention, of course, is the first line of defense, and, to that end, the CDC has a number of useful resources here. Hospitals and other medical facilities can also track Healthcare-associated Infections (HAIs) through the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). At present, 30 states and DC require HAI reporting via the NHSN.