State health officials say they plan to test some employees of Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama for tuberculosis after identifying an infected worker at the automaker’s plant outside Montgomery.
Pam Barrett of the Alabama Department of Public Health says testing and evaluations at the Hyundai plant will begin Tuesday. She says only workers who were in close contact with the infected employee need to be tested.
Pulmonary tuberculosis is an airborne disease that can be spread when someone coughs or even speaks. Symptoms include a bad cough and chest pains. Tuberculosis is treatable, but advanced cases can be deadly.
Hyundai employs an estimated 3,000 workers in Alabama.
