TA: Doctor, 10 medical staff contract tuberculosis
Routine check at Sourasky Medical Center reveals indication of virus infection. Hospital says no fear of further infections
A doctor and 10 other medical staff members at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv have been infected with tuberculosis. They are receiving preventive care to stop them from developing the disease. The Sourasky Medical Center said they were diagnosed as part of routine checks.
The hospital further noted that anyone who carries the virus but has not developed the disease is not infectious and has therefore allowed the staff members to continue their work.
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The medical center's managers believe that the infection justifies its controversial policy of restricting admissions of African migrants.
Professor Itamar Grotto, director of Public Health Services at the Health Ministry, said that it was not uncommon for medical staff to contract such diseases as TB. He stressed that the preventive care they are receiving will prevent further infections.
Last month it was reported that Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center will restrict admissions and visits by African refugees out of concern for the spread of infectious diseases to other patients – a move that sparked condemnation from the Health Ministry and doctors across Israel.
Tuberculosis mainly threatens infants whose immune system is not fully developed.
Last June, a 6-week-old baby whose parents are Eritrean immigrants, was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis.
Subsequently, some 100 children and their parents were called in for tests, despite the fact that chances of further infection were slim.
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