CDC/Florida hide TB outbreak to protect homeless image, at least 13 dead, 99 ill, children sick, thousands exposed

In early February, Duval County Health Department officials were so worried about the surge in the number of cases that they asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to become involved. The health officials felt that if they informed the public, the public would avoid the homeless. “What you don’t want is for anyone to have another reason why people should turn their backs on the homeless,” said Charles Griggs, the public information officer for the Duval County Health Department.
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But on April 5, the CDC warned Florida health officials that the Jacksonville outbreak was rapidly gaining ground: 13 deaths and 99 illnesses, including six children, had resulted already. Three thousand people in the past two years may have come into contact with TB contagious people at Jacksonville’s homeless shelters, an outpatient mental health clinic and area jails. But only 253 people had been found and evaluated for TB. article here