State Health Dept. Confirms 4 TB Cases at Hyundai

State health officials tested some employees of Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama for tuberculosis after a identifying an infected worker at the automaker’s plant outside Montgomery.

Pam Barrett of the Alabama Department of Public Health says testing and evaluations at the Hyundai plant began Tuesday. She says only workers who were in close contact with the infected employee need to be tested.

Pam Barrett with the ADPH says 393 people were tested. Of those, 4 people tested positive for latent TB.

They will have a chest x-ray and take a preventative medicine.

Pulmonary tuberculosis is an airborne disease that can be spread when someone coughs or even speaks. Symptoms include a bad cough and chest pains. Tuberculosis is treatable, but advanced cases can be deadly.

Hyundai employs an estimated 3,000 workers in Alabama.

For additional information, contact Pam Barrett at (334) 467-8208.

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