Federal Team Returns to Fight TB in Kosciusko

The Indiana State Department of Health announced this morning that a team from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has returned to Kosciusko County to assist in managing the cases of Tuberculosis (TB) in the county. As part of the current outbreak, at least 26 people in Kosciusko County have contracted TB since 1999. Several of those patients have finished their treatments. Treatment lasts an average of nine months. In the winter of 2005, the CDC provided a team of staff members and the Indiana State Department of Health provided a grant to the county health department that allowed the hiring of a nurse and an outreach worker to help with the management of the current cases and further contact investigation. Because of the ongoing investigations and treatment of cases, the CDC has sent a team back to continue their assistance to the county and state and the CDC is also looking to hire a public health advisor to work with the state and area local health departments in continuing the fight against the spread of this disease.