TB EXPOSURES REPORTED AT TWO LOCAL HOMELESS SHELTERS

By Fernanda Lopez Halvorson, County of San Diego Communications Office

Image Credit: CDC.gov

May 28, 2025 (San Diego) --County Public Health is working in close collaboration with Father Joe’s Villages and the San Diego Rescue Mission to notify residents, employees and volunteers who may have potentially been exposed to tuberculosis (TB) at the Father Joe’s Villages Paul Mirabile Center (PMC) and the San Diego Rescue Mission South County Lighthouse.  

The dates of potential exposure at Father Joe’s Villages Paul Mirabile Center are from Feb. 14, 2025 to March 18, 2025, and from April 6, 2025 to May 7, 2025. Dates of potential exposure at the San Diego Rescue Mission South County Lighthouse are from March 28, 2025 to April 11, 2025.

There is no evidence of an outbreak at this time or that previously announced exposures at shelters operated by Father Joe’s Villages are related to the above-mentioned exposures.  

TB is an airborne disease that is transmitted from person-to-person through inhalation of the bacteria from the air. The bacteria are spread when someone sick with TB coughs, speaks, sings or breathes. People with frequent and prolonged indoor exposure to a person who is sick with TB should get tested.  

People experiencing homelessness are at increased risk for TB for a variety of reasons. These include a higher risk for exposure to another person with active TB in large congregate settings, challenges regarding access to healthcare and the presence of certain medical conditions that may be more common and/or severe among people experiencing homelessness.  

In San Diego County, most people who are diagnosed with TB have not been recently homeless, however the rate of the disease is much higher among people who have experienced homelessness compared with the general population. 

“Symptoms of active TB include persistent cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss,” said Sayone Thihalolipavan, M.D., MPH, County Public Health Officer. “Most people who become infected after exposure to tuberculosis do not get sick right away. This is called latent TB infection. Some who become infected with tuberculosis will become ill in the future, sometimes even years later, if their latent TB infection is not treated. For people who think they may have been exposed, blood tests and skin tests are an effective way to determine an infection.” 

Effective treatments are available to cure people who are sick from active TB. It is especially important for people with symptoms of active TB and those who are immunocompromised to see a medical provider to rule out active TB disease and to discuss treatment.  

People who test positive for TB but who don’t have symptoms of an active case should get a chest x-ray and talk to a medical provider, as they most likely have a latent TB infection. People in this situation are infected with TB, but the infection is essentially dormant or “sleeping.” Taking medicines for latent TB infection can cure the infection and keep these people from getting sick later.  

The number of people diagnosed with active TB in San Diego County had decreased since the early 1990s when more than 400 cases were reported annually. After decades of declining, TB cases have begun to rise since 2020. 

In 2020, there were 193 TB cases, 201 in 2021, 208 in 2022, and 242 in 2023. In 2024, a total of 247 people were reported with active TB disease in San Diego County.   

An estimated 175,000 people in San Diego County have latent TB infection. Of these, 5 to 10 percent are at risk of developing active TB disease if they go without preventive treatment.   

People who would like more information on this potential exposure should call the County Tuberculosis Control Program at (619) 692-8621.