Refugee working at Tyson Foods died of TB

In light of the previous post, Somalis arrive in Emporia with tuberculosis, an article from last January in the Emporia Gazette is relevant. In Tyson worker had TB, reporter Bobbi Mlynar writes:

A coroner’s report says that an active case of tuberculosis was a factor in the death of a Tyson worker on Jan. 4 at the Emporia plant.

——————–

According to information this morning from the Lyon County Health Department, the department and Tyson Foods are taking precautionary measures in the case, which remains under investigation. The name of the worker, a 20-year-old man, has not been released.

——————–

Both the health department and local plant manager Mike Fiehler said in a news release that TB is not a food safety concern and is not transmitted by food.

If a refugee died of TB in January, he must have come into this country with active TB. This raises the question: How good is the screening procedure used for refugees? We have been assured time and again that refugees receive at least two health screenings, overseas and once they arrive here. How did an active case of TB slip through, and how many more are there?

Note: The comments posted below the January article from the citizens of Emporia are interesting, and give insight into how upsetting it is to have this kind of thing come into a community.