The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is coordinating a tuberculosis contact investigation involving a healthcare worker at good Samaritan Hospital. the worker lives in Fayette County and is a student at Eastern Kentucky University.

The ongoing investigation is being held with good Samaritan Hospital, the University of Kentucky, Kentucky Department for Public Health, Eastern Kentucky University and the Madison County Health Department.

The worker has been isolated and has been undergoing treatment since being identified in mid-October.

Tuberculosis, also known as TB, is a disease caused by bacteria that usually attacks the lungs. It is spread when a person with TB coughs, sneezes or sings into the air, which is then breathed by another person.

Symptoms including feelings of weakness, weight loss, fever, night sweats, coughing and chest pain. some patients also cough up blood.

TB is treated by taking several antibiotics for 6-12 months. With all active cases, health department staff visit TB patients daily in their home to watch them take their medications in a process called directly observed therapy, or DOT. DOT helps the patient complete the treatment in the least amount of time and reduces the risk of transmitting the disease to others.