Hundreds tested after possible exposure to TB at Lexington Medical Center campus

Hundreds of people have been tested for tuberculosis after a patient at Lexington Medical Center’s Lexington Oncology Infusion Center was diagnosed with the contagious illness recently.

Lexington Medical Center and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control have completed initial screenings on 308 patients, employees and family members who may have come in contact with the infected patient on certain days between Aug. 19 and Sept. 30, according to a statement from hospital spokesperson Jennifer Wilson.

Lexington Oncology Infusion Center is a physician practice within the Lexington Medical Center system. It is located inside of Lexington Medical Park 3 on the hospital’s campus in West Columbia, not inside of the main building.

Tuberculosis is a potentially deadly disease spread through the air when infectious people cough, sneeze or breathe. The disease can be treated through a rigid schedule of medication, which often takes six to nine months. People with tuberculosis often cough, spit up blood or bodily fluids and experience chest pain.



While rare in the United States today compared to a century ago, tuberculosis does crop up – and it can be deadly if not treated.

South Carolina had a troubling tuberculosis outbreak in 2013 in Greenwood County, where more than 50 schoolchildren at Ninety Six Primary School tested positive for the TB germ after contracting it from a school janitor who was suspected of spreading his untreated illness to the community, according to reporting by The State.

Not every person who has the TB germ will develop tuberculosis, but it increases the likelihood of contracting the full disease.

People with other diseases — or with compromised immune systems, such as those in cancer patients — often are more susceptible to developing tuberculosis if they are exposed to TB germs, according to medical experts.

In recent weeks, Lexington Medical Center called and sent a letter to each of the patients, staff and visitors who might have been susceptible to contracting tuberculosis from being in “close proximity” to the patient at the oncology center, according to Wilson.

“It was important to the hospital to be proactive, have personal contact with everyone who may have been affected and evaluate them promptly,” the emailed statement said.

So far, none of the tests on the 308 people have come back positive, Wilson said. The screening tests consisted of simple blood tests, though some of the people tested required chest X-rays. All testing was done free of charge, Wilson said in the statement.

The hospital would not disclose how the infected patient was being treated because of patient privacy laws, Wilson said.

DHEC can answer additional questions about tuberculosis and testing at scdhec.gov or 803-898-0558.

Sammy Fretwell contributed to reporting.

This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 2:38 PM.