VALHALLA – A 45-year-old male inmate at the Westchester County Jail has tested positive for active tuberculosis, county officials said. The inmate was being treated at Westchester Medical Center under the watch of the Department of Corrections.
County and state health department and county jail officials are working to identify, evaluate and treat as necessary, inmates, staff members, and any others who were exposed to the infected inmate.
Health department officials said that TB is much less infectious than many common infections such as chickenpox. The bacteria grow very slowly and it takes prolonged exposure and close contact with an individual with TB before a person can become infected. Following exposure, the disease can be prevented and is generally completely curable with antibiotics.
Health officials said there are 30 to 40 case of TB in the county each year. This is the first confirmed case at the jail in many years.
