The Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness said Tuesday there recently have been people diagnosed with drug-resistant, active infectious tuberculosis at the homeless shelter at Peachtree and Pine streets.
People at the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless facility who have been identified as being positive with TB that is resistant to one of the common drugs used to treat it started treatment and are being monitored to make sure they are taking the medication as directed, the health department said in a statement from Dr. Matthew McKenna, the department’s medical director.
A health department spokeswoman was not sure Tuesday how many people are affected.
Anita Beaty of the homeless task force said Tuesday there was no TB outbreak at the facility. She said the task force has never been given “any information about when those people were discovered to be infectious. We were never given an opportunity to confirm their residence with us."
Beaty said she was told there may have been one of two cases but she was not given names or a time frame when they may have been at the facility and she has no idea whether those people are still at the facility.
She said she takes the health of residents very seriously. “We’ve very concerned about our residents.”
The county health department works with homeless shelters throughout the county to provide preventive services and treatment for communicable diseases.
The department said signs have been provided to the shelter’s management to notify people entering the shelter that people with “isoniazid-resistant” TB have been identified there. Isoniazid is a drug used to treat TB.
"The Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness continues to monitor this situation and we are continuing to screen persons referred to us by the management who are likely to have been exposed to these cases," the statement from McKenna said.
The statement said the disease is spread from person to person via the air through droplets generated by coughing, sneezing, speaking or singing. Transmission occurs when another person inhales the particles.
The Fulton County Department of Health Services, which oversees the county department of health and wellness, and the task force have collaborated to conduct screening and treatment for residents who voluntarily participate.
Health officials also have recommended that the task force institute procedures such as mandatory screening for long-term residents, separation of residents who have been screened for TB from clients who have not been screened, and keeping accurate records of people to allow for efficient follow-up, the statement said.
"Based on our conversations with the shelter management it is clear that these procedures have not been fully implemented," the statement said.
The statement from McKenna said the rates of TB at the Midtown facility are "consistently higher" than at other homeless shelters in Fulton.
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