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An elderly resident in a Maine nursing home tested positive
for TB earlier this summer. Twelve additional staff and residents of Borderview
Manor in Van Buren, Maine, have tested positive for exposure but are not
contagious, according to health department officials. “This was never a risk to
the general public,” said Dr. Stephen Sears, state epidemiologist. “TB is a
disease that exists throughout the United States and we continue to see it in
Maine.” Maine reported 17 TB cases in 2012. Often, people are exposed at a
young age but do not become sick until they are elderly.
Medical professionals from the Maine CDC went to the nursing
home in response to the case. “We were onsite to help assess the situation and
provide education,” Sears said. “We have been working with them to both get the
person treated and to determine if there are any more exposed.”
“We followed our in-house protocols and the Maine CDC
recommendations,” said Robert Poiesz, the nursing home’s administrator. “We
notified [Maine CDC] of our positive test at the end of July.” The nursing home
initially moved the patient out of her room to a private area and treated her
with antibiotics to cure the TB. The home then moved her back into her room.
According to Poiesz, the people who tested positive for exposure will have
follow-up tests to ensure the TB did not become active.
