JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For the first time since 2012, tuberculosis cases in Jacksonville have dropped drastically.
According to the Duval County Department of Health, new data shows a nearly 55 percent drop in TB cases since a major outbreak among the homeless population six years ago.
Tuberculosis is a potentially fatal illness that is caused by a bacterial infection. It's airborne, so it can spread anytime an infected person coughs or sneezes, and usually attacks a person's lungs.
"The bacteria is released into the air and is breathed in by close contacts," said Tawanda Washington, assistant director of nursing at the Duval County Department of Health.
The health department said TB cases in Jacksonville have decreased dramatically thanks to aggressive screenings of people who sleep in homeless shelters.
In 2012, the Duval County Department of Health said, Jacksonville suffered a significant TB outbreak among the city's homeless population.
Since that time, the health department has worked with homeless shelters and community physicians to decrease the spread of TB.
"We do annual testing and then periodic screening for those clients that seek shelter on a regular basis in our local shelters," Washington told News4Jax on Wednesday.
Shelter employees are now trained to do simple screenings when someone shows up to a shelter for the first time and doesn't have a shelter clearance card. Anyone with a card has already been properly screened for the disease and cleared. People who have shelter clearance cards are screened every two months because the incubation period for TB is eight to 12 weeks.
Now, the results of those measures can be seen.
"We reported in 2017, 38 cases of active tuberculosis," Washington said.
She said that's the lowest number of cases since the 2012 outbreak.
Those most vulnerable to TB are people with compromised immune systems, people who suffer from chronic illnesses, the elderly and young children.
“And also those that live in community settings where they don’t have a choice of who they sleep next to," Washington added.
The health department advised that the best way to prevent the spread of TB is for people to cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze.
Symptoms of TB include coughing for more than three weeks, fever for more than a week, extreme sweating for more than one week, weight loss and chest pain.
Antibiotic treatment can last from six months to two years.