Following the tuberculosis exposure event at Providence Memorial Hospital in El Paso, Texas, five babies have tested positive for TB, according to the El Paso Department of Health.
The positive results were from skin tests, but all X-rays were negative. Since four of these babies received a Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine for TB (which is used often in countries where TB is more common but not widely used in the U.S.), these tests may prove to be false positives. However, all of the babies will be offered treatment.
Additionally, 96 more babies were added to the list of those possibly exposed to TB at the hospital based on new state and federal recommendations, bringing the total number of affected patients to 858.
So far, more than 200 TB screenings have been completed.