TB confirmed at Elmore Correctional Facility | Health

ELMORE, AL (WSFA) - The Alabama Department of Corrections confirms the positive results of Tuberculosis in a prisoner who was being held at the Elmore Correctional Facility. The inmate's name is not being released.

Dept. of Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett said the prisoner has been moved to a negative airflow room at Bibb Correctional Facility, per standard procedures.

TB testing of staff and inmates will begin Monday by the Alabama Department of Public Health. Results of those tests will not be known until later in the week.

Corbett said out of an abundance of caution, inmate movement to and from Elmore is being restricted to emergency need only.

TB is an infection, primarily of the lungs, caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It can be spread from person to person by breathing infected air during close contact.

The infection can be treated with several drugs, but a drug-resistant case can cause serious complications.