California Casino Warns Visitors After Tribal Member Tests Positive for Tuberculosis

One of California’s tribal casinos has urged its patrons to remain vigilant following the detection of contagious tuberculosis within the tribal community.  While only a single case had been detected as of the time of the announcement, the tribe decided to maintain full transparency and warn of the potential threat.

The Resort Is Cooperating with Health Services

Tuberculosis is bacteria that spreads through the air and often affects infected people’s lungs. Health experts warn that only a few droplets of germs, usually spread through coughs and sneezes, can make someone contact the disease.

While tuberculosis used to be a lot more dangerous in the past, modern medicine has significantly reduced its mortality rate. Despite that, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, which operates the Cache Creek Casino Resort in Brooks, California, decided to exercise an abundance of caution by immediately raising the alarm after a person within its community tested positive for the disease.

In its official statement, the tribe emphasized that it has immediately contacted public health officials from the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency and is currently working beside them to address the situation and see if the disease has spread.

To that end, Cache Creek Casino Resort staff are now working to identify all the people who might have had close contact with the person in question. In its announcement, the tribe specified that “close contact” in this case means a “cumulative exposure of at least eight hours to the individual with TB.”

While the casino didn’t clarify who the tribe member in question was, its announcement seems to imply that they were an employee at the casino resort or present at the property shortly before the disease was identified.

The Resort Remains Open

Cache Creek Casino Resort visitors should still watch out for symptoms, which could include coughing, fatigue, fever, profuse sweating, loss of appetite and chest pain.

In the meantime, the Cache Creek Casino Resort remains open, suggesting that the situation is entirely under control. As of the time of this writing, there have not been any news of additional tuberculosis cases.