Babies exposed to TB

Thirty-five newborns at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento and NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield were exposed to tuberculosis while in neonatal intensive-care units.

Hospital and county officials informed the parents of 20 infants at Sutter that a TB patient visited the unit between March 14 and March 31. The parents of 15 babies at the NorthBay facility were notified about exposure that took place between March 31 and April 2 and again from April 11 to April 19, according to The Sacramento Bee. Hospital officials would not disclose why the TB patient was visiting the care units, but did confirm he or she was not a hospital employee.

The hospitals made an effort to warn all of the parents by May 22, as infants are more vulnerable than adults to contracting the infection and those exposed require testing or immediate antibiotics.