Johns Hopkins buildings evacuated after the possible release of tuberculosis today; officials say "zero risk" of infection

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A small sample of frozen tuberculosis was inadvertently released into an internal bridge between two research buildings at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, the hospital said Thursday. The buildings are in a non-patient area and do not connect to the hospital, and officials said that there was no threat of disease.

In a press conference, Landon King, deputy executive director of JHU School of Medicine, said that As a precaution, the two research buildings were evacuated earlier in the day by firefighters. Public security officials and infectious disease experts have since cleaned up the buildings and the evacuation has been lifted.

"We have determined that there is no risk, that is, no risk to anyone," added King. He does not need additional tests for people who were in those buildings or in the general area, he said.

What is tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis is also caused by bacteria that can spread in the air. an infected person speaks or coughs. It usually attacks the lungs, although it can also damage other vital organs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2016, 10.4 million people worldwide had tuberculosis and 1.7 million people died.

In recent years, the incidence of tuberculosis has decreased in the United States, with a total of 9,272 cases in 2016.

Symptoms of Tuberculosis

According to the CDC, the symptoms of tuberculosis are:

• a severe cough that lasts three weeks or more
• chest pain
• coughing up blood or sputum, or phlegm from the bottom of the lungs

Other symptoms may include weakness or fatigue, weight loss, chills, fever, loss of appetite and sweating at night.

TB may be latent or active. With latent tuberculosis, a person has a tuberculous infection but the bacteria remain in an inactive state in the body and cause no symptoms. In this case, the disease is not contagious. Active TB makes a person sick and contagious. Latent TB can turn into active TB, so it is important for a person with latent TB to get treatment to prevent its spread.

Treatment of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is preventable and curable. Medications are available to treat tuberculosis, but it takes a lot more time than most other types of bacterial infections. People with tuberculosis should take antibiotics for at least six to nine months.

In recent years, physicians have seen an increasing number of drug-resistant TB cases commonly used to treat the disease. In these cases, a combination of drugs may be needed for an even longer period for about 20 to 30 months, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Untreated tuberculosis can lead to a number of complications, including joint, liver or kidney problems, heart problems, meningitis, and ultimately death.

The earlier the treatment, the lower the risk of complications.