May 23, 2013
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- A newspaper is reporting that as state officials moved to close a hospital specializing in tuberculosis treatment, federal health officials were finding a serious outbreak of the disease among the homeless in Jacksonville.
An April 5 report sent to Florida health officials by Dr. Robert Luo of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control warned Florida health officials that a tuberculosis outbreak in Jacksonville was linked to 13 deaths and 99 illnesses.
The Palm Beach Post obtained a copy of the report through a public records request.
In late March, Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill consolidating the state's Department of Health and requiring the closure of the A.G. Holley State Hospital in Lantana, where tuberculosis cases had been treated for more than 60 years.
The hospital closed July 2.
