Nursing home tuberculosis

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) _ Employees and patients at the Gore Nursing Center are being checked after someone tested positive for tuberculosis. <br><br>Residents and workers were given tests last week. Those

Friday, February 14th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) _ Employees and patients at the Gore Nursing Center are being checked after someone tested positive for tuberculosis.

Residents and workers were given tests last week. Those who had positive skin tests were retested, said Linda Hattaway, director of the state Health Departments in Muskogee and Sequoyah counties.

``We don't have an outbreak of tuberculosis _ we have a positive case, and we have alerted everyone who has been exposed and tested everyone,'' Hattaway said.

``Just because you have a positive (skin) test doesn't mean you have TB _ sometimes if you have been exposed, you will have a positive test.''

There are on average 30 cases a year in Oklahoma, Hattaway said.

Wendy Shropshire, director of the Gore Nursing Center, declined comment. The center's administrators could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.