Lynn TB spike triples health OT budget

LYNN – Locally documented tuberculosis cases spiked to 14 locally and then dropped off recently to nine cases – but not before tripling the city overtime costs associated with monitoring people who contract the contagious disease.Lynn typically has five to eight tuberculosis cases annually, but city public health nurse M.J. Duffy-Alexander said the number started climbing in fall 2012 with the increase peaking at 14 cases in the first half of this year before tapering off. Her boss, Health Director MaryAnn O?Connor, is not surprised by the jump and said Lynn is a destination point for immigrants, some of whom have tested positive for tuberculosis.?We had probably one of the highest rates in the state,” she said.State Public Health statistics bear out her observation: “Summary statistics” for tuberculosis listed 215 cases reported to state health officials – mostly adult males over 25 years old. Nearly 90 percent of the cases were reported “in non U.S.-born persons,” according to the statistics, including individuals from Vietnam, China, India and Cambodia.?Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by TB,?? the summary stated.Doctors, health clinics and immigration officials send city health officials tests results confirming positive tests for tuberculosis.O?Connor said tuberculosis is often centered in a patient?s lungs and, in addition to being contagious, can be fatal. Sufferers often sweat heavily and complain about trouble sleeping. They are prescribed strong antibiotic doses, and it is Duffy-Alexander?s job to monitor and test patients over the six- to nine-month treatment period.Testing and monitoring is not confined, she said, just to the person who has tuberculosis. A wide circle of people that individual comes into contact with – relatives and friends – must also be tested.?We have to screen everyone they live with,” O?Connor said.Conducting testing means seeing patients before or after they go to work – often early in the morning or at night. The local tuberculosis rate spike drove up O?Connor?s overtime budget from $6,000 to $17,000 for this year.To make matters worse for O?Connor, the state no longer reimburses cities for overtime costs associated with tuberculosis testing. State Public Health (DPH) spokeswoman Anne Roach explained why:?In prior years, whenever there were surplus TB resources available, DPH was able to provide selective partial reimbursements to communities. In more recent years, shrinking federal resources and increasing drug expenses have made this less possible.”O?Connor said local tuberculosis testing and monitoring “is quite complicated,” but said the city cannot afford to take shortcuts, especially regarding tuberculosis centered in the lungs.?Lung TB is what we really worry about. That?s the one that is really contagious,” Duffy-Alexander added.Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].