Indiana health officials are investigating more than 20 possible cases of tuberculosis that patients may have acquired after surgery, including at least one at Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital.
The patients received a "bone repair product" that has been linked to TB infections across the country, health officials said Friday.
However, health officials would not answer even basic questions from The Herald-Times about the infections, such as whether safety protocols did not work or were not followed.
State law requires that TB cases be reported to local health departments within 72 hours — though information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that TB “is usually not infectious.”
TB is a potentially fatal bacterial disease that usually attacks the lungs but also can attack other parts of the body including the kidneys, spine and brain. The U.S. reported nearly 9,000 TB cases in 2019. The year before, the nation recorded 542 TB deaths, according to the CDC.
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