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CLEVELAND, Ohio – A Cleveland Clinic employee who works in pediatrics is on leave while being tested for a potential case of tuberculosis, according to a Clinic statement.
The Clinic said there is a “low probability” that the employee has the disease and that preliminary tests are negative.
“We are continuing to monitor and will have a definitive answer in the coming weeks,” the Clinic said in a prepared statement.
Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease that typically affects the lungs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is an airborne disease that spreads when someone infected speaks, coughs or sneezes. There were 9,105 cases of tuberculosis in the United States in 2017, according to the CDC.
The employee in question works in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit on main campus. The Clinic is reaching out to patients and employees who could have been exposed between early September and early November and is working closely with the Cuyahoga County Health Department.
The Clinic said no other locations in the Children’s Hospital were affected.
Those with questions should call the Clinic at 216-442-2500.
This story is being updated.
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