A Camden County resident is in hospital isolation after testing positive for active tuberculosis, and county health officials are now racing to track down anyone who might have been exposed. The patient is receiving treatment while public health teams work through the unglamorous but crucial work of lab confirmation, contact tracing and testing of household members and other close contacts.
According to FOX 29 Philadelphia, the person first showed up at a local hospital on Feb. 12 with symptoms that raised red flags for tuberculosis. Lab tests confirmed TB, and the county health department was notified on Feb. 17. The patient was placed in isolation and started treatment on Feb. 19. “This is a continuing investigation, and we are actively working with the New Jersey Department of Health to identify individuals who may have been exposed,” Commissioner Jennifer Cooley Fleisher told FOX 29.
What tuberculosis is and how it spreads
Tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It most often targets the lungs and spreads when a person with active TB coughs, sneezes or talks and someone nearby inhales the infectious droplets, according to the CDC. Typical signs of pulmonary TB include a cough that hangs on for three weeks or longer, chest pain, coughing up blood, unexplained weight loss, fever and night sweats. Many people carry TB bacteria without developing active disease, and when illness is diagnosed, prompt multi-drug antibiotic treatment usually cures it.
How Camden County is responding
The Camden County Department of Health and Human Services is partnering with the New Jersey Department of Health to track down and notify anyone who may have been exposed, then arrange testing for close contacts. So far, no household members or other close contacts have reported symptoms linked to TB, according to FOX 29 Philadelphia.
State context and what to know
The New Jersey Department of Health reports that TB remains relatively uncommon at the state level. The agency recorded 343 new cases in 2023, with preliminary data showing 342 cases in 2024. It funds regional tuberculosis specialty clinics that serve Camden County and other areas, and those clinics, along with the state health department, provide testing, medication and directly observed therapy to help patients finish treatment, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.
If you were exposed or have symptoms
Anyone who thinks they may have been exposed or who develops a cough lasting more than three weeks, fever, night sweats or unexplained weight loss is urged to contact a health care provider or the Camden County Department of Health and Human Services. The Camden County Department of Health and Human Services lists communicable disease reporting and testing resources, including a disease-reporting line at (856) 374-6356.
