The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH officials have concluded tuberculosis (TB) screenings of more than 3,000 residents in Eleuthera, diagnosing only four active cases, according to Health Minister Dr Duane Sands.

In an interview yesterday, Dr Sands further revealed that additional screenings at R M Bailey and the Carmichael Road Detention Centre resulted in no new cases.

In November, the Elizabeth MP in a parliamentary address revealed multiple cases at the school and one in a former detainee at the Carmichael Detention Centre.

Additionally, 235 people in Eleuthera had positive Mantoux tests and about “25 or so” had suspicious chest X-rays, he said.

Dr Sands later revealed there were 100 confirmed cases of TB on Eleuthera.

He also said last November there were 15 cases of TB on Exuma but added it was unclear if those cases on the two islands are latent or active.

Yesterday, Dr Sands said: “I am pleased to say that there are less than four active cases of TB. We didn’t find any new active cases of TB at the Detention Centre or at R M Bailey and so, while there are a number of people that were exposed - and all of them are on prophylaxis, meaning two drugs for TB - there were no additional cases for TB other than the few that we found in Eleuthera.”

Of the cases in Eleuthera, Dr Sands said “those people were admitted to hospital and treated”.

Asked if the government was concerned by the data, Dr Sands said there is always a “baseline” level of TB cases in The Bahamas, adding that month to month suspected cases are reported and investigated, but often rarely result in positive diagnoses.

TB is one of the top ten causes of death worldwide. It is an infectious disease that generally affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections do not have symptoms.

If left untreated when it becomes active, the disease kills about half of those infected, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Anyone with questions on TB is asked to call the Ministry of Health’s Surveillance Unit at 376-1103, 376-3970 or 502-4705.