Fifty-nine patients have tested positive for latent tuberculosis infections at Las Vegas-based Summerlin Hospital Medical Center half a year after an infected woman gave birth at the facility, according to a report from the Las Vegas Sun.
Vanessa White, a former patient at Summerlin, gave birth at the hospital in May to twins. While Ms. White had tuberculosis at the time, clinicians failed to diagnose her. Her twins remained in the hospital after she was discharged, and she continued to visit them, according to the report. Both Ms. White and her children died of tuberculosis soon afterward.
Summerlin tested Ms. White's family and friends, infants who stayed in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit between May and August 2013 and their families. No infants tested positive for tuberculosis. In addition to the 59 cases of latent tuberculosis, one of Ms. White's family members and one NICU worker tested positive for the active form of the disease and were treated in isolation, according to the report.
As of November, eight employees, visitors and former patients have filed a lawsuit against the hospital, claiming negligence, according to additional coverage from the Last Vegas Sun.