State Health Officials Host Community Meeting About TB Outbreak

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From the West Alabama Newsroom–

State health officials held a community meeting Tuesday evening in Marion to update residents about the outbreak of Tuberculosis and the efforts underway to stop the disease from spreading.

Dozens of residents attended the meeting to get answers concerning their questions about the TB and the outbreak of the disease in their community.

State health officials say the purpose of the meeting was to educate residents about TB and the importance of being tested and treated for the disease.

“At this point we have 47 people with TB, latent TB infection and we’re doing further testing on those people to ensure that they do not have active TB,” said ADPH TB Control Director Pam Barrett.

State health officials are offering cash incentives for residents in Marion to get tested and treated for the disease. They say nearly 800 people have been screened for the disease so far.