Following the positive diagnosis of tuberculosis of a hospital employee, health officials feared that over 700 infants and around 40 other hospital staff were exposed to it, according to the El Paso Department of Public Health.
The tuberculosis-stricken female employee worked at the nursery section of the Providence Memorial Hospital in Texas, before being tested positive of the disease last Aug. 25, reports said.
She was immediately put on leave, although it was feared that infants and other staff were already exposed to her disease beginning September 2013, said Dr. Hector Ocaranza.
Dr. Ocaranza, however, declined to disclose how the worker contracted the disease because of privacy laws.
Gathered reports said health and hospital authorities have contacted and sent letters to the families of the possibly exposed infants and hospital workers and offered free screening and follow-up care to them.
"TB is a serious but treatable disease that is spread through the air. Although TB is not easy to catch from another person, we want to be extra sure that your child is examined," the letter stated as quoted by Reuters.
Dr. Ocaranza said they are awaiting results of the tests.
Of the possibly affected infants, at least 50 reside in New Mexico, based on reports.
"This is an incredibly large exposure investigation, and it involves infants, so it is particularly sensitive," said Carrie Williams, a Texas Department of State Health Services spokeswoman, in the Seattle Times. "Babies are more likely than older children and adults to develop life-threatening forms of TB."
Dr. Ocaranza said that tuberculosis is curable and the possible hospital exposure being investigated doesn't represent a threat to public health.
Reports said the bacteria causing the disease, however, could lay inactive for months or years before it grows and leads to an active case of tuberculosis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that babies and persons with weak immune systems are specifically vulnerable to the infection.
The tuberculosis infection can be contracted through the air we breathe when a person suffering from the said disease sneezes or coughs.
The current investigation likewise prompted the regulators to further inspect Providence hospital, eventually discovering several violations, according to deputy regional administrator David Wright of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Refusing to identify the violations, Wright added that the violations found could threaten the Medicare funding of the hospital and could pose "an immediate jeopardy to patient safety." He merely said the violations were found in the areas of infection control, management oversight, and patient rights.
"Providence Memorial Hospital is committed to doing everything we can to ensure the health and continued well being of our patients, our employees and our community," said Audrey Garcia, spokeswoman for Providence.
Providence hospital was given until Sept. 23 to propose a corrective plan.
