Angelite Nurses

Babies Will Receive Physical Exams

SAN FRANCISCO -- Kaiser Permanente has begun tuberculosis testing for patients, employees and visitors who may have been exposed to a San Francisco maternity ward worker diagnosed with the infectious disease.

Kaiser said the part-time employee worked the night shift in the postpartum unit of its San Francisco Medical Center from March 10 to August 10 and no longer works there.

The medical center on Tuesday began notifying people who may have been exposed, including  

about 960 mothers and their infants. 


Patients will be screened with a simple skin test, but infants also will undergo a physical exam and chest X-ray. Some babies will be treated with antibiotics as a precaution.

Kaiser officials said the infection risk is low, and the worker had a common strain of TB that responds well to treatment.