Cache Creek Casino Resort, just west of Sacramento, California, has issued a public health alert “out of an abundance of caution” after a case of contagious tuberculosis (TB) was discovered in its “community.”
Close contact is considered at least eight cumulative hours of exposure to tuberculosis.
The casino did not say who is infected (nor would it publicly) or when they were exposed. It is working with the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency to contact anyone who was potentially in close contact with the individual, similar to what happened during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Close contact is considered at least eight cumulative hours of exposure to tuberculosis.
Unlike with the unfortunate resurgence of measles in the United States, this case of TB – and any others that might stem from it – is not a result of people ignoring medical advice on vaccinations. While there is a TB vaccine, the disease is rare enough in the US that only children at high risk are typically immunized.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), most people with TB have an inactive, non-contagious infection. Though extreme cases can be very serious and even deadly, TB is a disease that can be treated.
