More employees, visitors to court to get TB tests

Erica D. Johnson

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 | 11:27 a.m.

More District Court and private sector employees will be tested for tuberculosis later this month, following the discovery that an inmate at the Clark County Detention Center could have exposed them to the disease.

A female inmate at the jail with an active case of tuberculosis appeared in District Judge John McGroarty's courtroom eight times between September and February, court officials said this morning.

Court officials compiled a list of about 125 private sector and Clark County employees who should be tested, including McGroarty, several attorneys, bailiffs, court reporters and court clerks, court administrator Chuck Short said.

Testing began last week and another round of testing is expected to begin at the end of the month, he said.

More people could be added to the list in the coming weeks as Clark County management continues to check their records and identify any possible substitutions of employees on the days the inmate appeared, he said.

"The list is evolving," he said. "We want to be as thorough and complete as possible. We want to keep the public and the employees healthy and safe. That's the effort."

Court officials have no way to determine the members of the public who could have been in the courtroom during the inmate's appearances, Short said.

Those who think they could have been exposed should contact the Clark County Health District, he said.

In general, it takes repeated exposure or prolonged exposure to a person with an active case to contract the disease, said Jennifer Sizemore, spokeswoman for the Clark County Health District.

About 500 employees and inmates were also tested at the Clark County Detention Center, Sizemore said.

Because the jail is a pre-trial facility, she said, inmates can refuse testing. Once the inmate is convicted and sent to Nevada State Prison, testing for major diseases is required.

Though several tests have come back positive at both facilities, it is not clear if any of those results represent an active case of the disease, she said. Sizemore said she was unaware of the exact number of positive readings.

It is common for about one in three people to test positive because they have been exposed to the disease, she said.

"If you test positive, it doesn't mean you have an active case," she said. "We're not expecting to find any active cases at this time."

Those who test positive will have to be tested again three months later to determine if the bacteria is alive. An active case could remain latent for years after the exposure, Sizemore said.

People with inactive cases will not experience the common symptoms associated with the disease, including coughing, night sweats, fever and a bloody cough, she said.

Those who think they could have contracted the disease should contact their doctors, she said. They can also call the health district's TB Clinic, 383-1369.

"People shouldn't panic," she said. "We treat it aggressively in order to ensure that the disease isn't spread. People should take comfort in that."

In the past few years, about 75 cases of active tuberculosis have been reported in Clark County, Sizemore said. People with weakened immune systems and senior citizens are most at risk for contracting the disease.