Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Tuberculosis has returned to Shawano County after nearly 10 years and is stirring anxiety among residents fearful of a disease that is both contagious and deadly.
More than 100 people crowded into the Tigerton Community Center on Wednesday to quiz health officials about a local man who is being treated in isolation for tuberculosis.
It is Shawano County’s second confirmed case this year of a disease that had not previously turned up in the county since 2006 — and for many years before that.
Health officials assured Tigerton area residents Wednesday that the risks of infection are minimal unless they have had close and prolonged exposure to the infected local resident, such as riding in a car with him for several hours.
But in an age when privacy concerns prohibit officials from disclosing the patient’s identity or other details, fears are growing among many in the western Shawano County community of 800 people.
“I am concerned,” resident Virginia Kauffman said. “I just want to know how this is being spread. Are we in danger?”
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the bacterial disease commonly known as TB usually attacks the lungs and can be spread by an infected person coughing or sneezing around others. Symptoms include a bad cough that lasts three weeks or longer, as well as chest pain and coughing up blood.
Once the leading cause of death in the United States, tuberculosis accounted for 80,000 deaths annually during the 1950s. The number has fallen steadily over the years and was down to 9,582 cases reported in 2013, the most recent data available.
For Wisconsin, the most recent data shows about 50 cases a year.
Jaime Bodden, public health director for the Shawano-Menominee Counties Health Department, said the two cases detected in Shawano County this year — both involving adult men — appear to be unrelated.
Bodden would not disclose where in the county the first case occurred, saying only that the man was confirmed as having tuberculosis this spring and that he is continuing to receive treatment.
The second case, involving a man from Tigerton, was confirmed about two weeks ago. Bodden said the patient has been symptomatic for about a month, prompting health officials to trace his movements and test other people with whom he has had contact — a process that is continuing.
To date, nobody else has tested positive for tuberculosis.
Bodden assured those gathered Wednesday inside the community center that the patient is being cooperative and will remain in isolation in his home until his symptoms have disappeared and he no longer is contagious.
Asked by residents how they can protect themselves without knowing the patient’s identity, Bodden said privacy laws prohibit her from disclosing such information. She added: “We’ve been working with him. His job is to stay isolated and be treated. He understands that.”
The community meeting also included information about how to recognize tuberculosis, how the disease is spread and who is most susceptible.
Another resident in the crowd, Andrew Boettcher, said health officials were handling the situation well. Boettcher, however, said anxiety in the community was running so high that he senses an attitude of “torches and pitchforks” among some people.
“I understand the fears,” he said. “I understand that everyone wants answers right now.”
County and local officials organized the community meeting after Tigerton village leaders learned about the health issue and approached the county health department.
Village President Dale Breaker said a local police officer informed him last week that a Tigerton resident had contracted tuberculosis. Breaker said he immediately contacted the county and asked about informing the public.
Officials have since wrestled with the dueling issues of wanting to protect the patient’s privacy while also needing to alert the community, Breaker said.
“It is a concern,” he said. “You do want to spread the word.”
The issue also was discussed earlier this week at a meeting of the Shawano County Board of Health.
Board Chairman Jon Zwirschitz said health officials assured the board that the Tigerton patient was isolated and that only four or five other people needed to be tested for possible exposure. Zwirschitz said officials seemed certain that the situation had been contained.
“They were real confident,” he said, “which was good to hear.”
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To read more about tuberculosis, go to www.cdc.gov/tb.