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Anyone who visited the Father Joe’s Joan Kroc Center from Oct. 13, 2023, to March 13, 2024, should be on the lookout for tuberculosis symptoms, which include persistent cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss.
The county health warned last week that an unidentified person or persons who visited the East Village homeless shelter at 15th Street and Imperial Avenue tested positive for the infectious disease, potentially exposing others who frequented the location during the indicated five-month span. Though county investigators have already notified everyone who lives and works at the shelter, public notice is intended to reach more casual or sporadic visitors.
Though TB can cause serious symptoms, and can be fatal if untreated, antibiotics are an effective treatment. The bacteria that causes the disease spreads through the air when infected people cough, speak, sing or breathe, though prolonged exposure — most often in an indoor setting — is necessary for transmission to occur.
County health officials said the exposure is unrelated to a similar one that occurred at the Golden Hall shelter on First Avenue from Sept. 5 to Sept. 28. While TB infection rates are known to be higher among those without permanent homes, county data indicates that 90 percent of diagnoses are among people who “have not recently been homeless.”
The number of people diagnosed with active TB in San Diego County had decreased since the early 1990s when more than 400 cases were reported annually. After decades of declining, TB cases have begun a slight uptick since 2021.
In 2023, 243 people were diagnosed with TB across San Diego County, a number that represents a surge after counts fell to 193 in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic mandated social distancing and temporarily curtailed congregation in public places.
People who would like more information on this potential exposure should call the county Tuberculosis Control Program at (619) 692-8621.
