A 26-year old resident, whose name has not been released, has been working at Northwestern Memorial, Children's Memorial and Evanston hospitals during the last 10 months, and has been in contact with a large number of patients, including hundreds of babies and children.

 

 The resident might have contracted the disease between annual health screenings that healthcare providers must pass before coming in contact with patients, said Kathleen Keenan, a spokesperson for Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

 

Patients who might have been in contact with the resident have already been notified to get tested for the disease, Keenan added. At Children’s Memorial 150 children and 300 employees were exposed, but, so far, no one in the hospital has tested positive for the disease.

 

Tuberculosis is a disease that primarily affects the lungs. It is transmitted easily when people live in very close proximity to one another. Most people who contract TB do not develop full-blown symptoms. Some 90 percent of people who have been exposed to the pathogen experience what is known as a latent infection. However, one in 10 of these latent infections progress to the active form of the disease, and people who are not treated have only a 50 per cent chance of survival.