LAS VEGAS (AP) — Experts say the overall decline of tuberculosis in the United States may be part of the reason why the disease wasn't detected in a young Las Vegas mother and her baby until it was too late.
Nevada state epidemiologist Dr. Ihsan Azzam says the disease was considered rare, especially among young and healthy patients. But he says the death of a 25-year-old mother in July has put the illness back on the radar for doctors.
The woman's diagnosis came when officials conducted an autopsy after her July death.
Health district officials in Las Vegas continue their effort to test hundreds of babies, parents and staff who may have been exposed to the mother or her newborn baby, who died Aug. 1 after several months in the Summerlin Hospital NICU.
