A woman from India is currently treated for extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis at the National Institute of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md., according to a Medscape report. Here are eight things to know about the quarantine and who she may have come into contact with:
1. The woman was transported to Bethesda from a hospital in a Chicago suburb.
2. The CDC, as of yesterday, described her conditions as stable.
3. XDR TB is a rare form of tuberculosis, commonly associated with patients with TB who do not take all their prescribed medications or irregularly take their medications, according to the report.
4. XDR TB especially poses a threat to those with weakened immune systems.
5. The woman being treated for XDR TB spent time in Tennessee and Missouri, and spent time in a bordering county of Chicago, McHenry County.
6. Those were in close contact with the patient are currently being monitored in Illinois for signs of TB, according to the report.
7. Missouri and Tennessee health departments are investigating those who were may have been exposed to the patient.
8. According to Medscape, there have been 63 reported XDR TB cases in the United States between 1993 and 2011.
More on quality & infection control:
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Discovery on how bacteria survive antibiotics—7 key notes
8 ways the whole genome sequencing is enhancing infection control
