ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta) – The home base for Occupy Atlanta has tested positive for tuberculosis.



The homeless shelter that Occupy Atlanta protesters have been camping out in has been confirmed for housing two cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis. (credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The Fulton County Health Department confirmed Wednesday that residents at the homeless shelter where protesters have been occupying have contracted the drug-resistant disease. WGCL reports that a health department spokeswoman said there is a possibility that both Occupy Atlanta protesters and the homeless people in the shelter may still be at risk since tuberculosis is contracted through air contact.

“Over the last three months were have been two persons who have resided in this facility who have been diagnosed with confirmed or suspected infectious tuberculosis (TB),” said Fulton County Services Director Matthew McKenna in a written statement to CBS Atlanta. “One of these persons was confirmed to have a strain of TB that is resistant to a single, standard medication used to treat this condition. All person(s) identified as positive have begun treatment and are being monitored to ensure that medication is taken as directed.”

The Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless has indicated that two cases have been made public knowledge to the group, the first coming from someone who contracted the disease in September. The identities of the people who have contracted the disease, however, have not been disclosed by the health department to this point.

The news of the tuberculosis contractions could force Occupy Atlanta to move once again. WGCL reports that more than 100 protesters made the move to the homeless shelter Oct. 30 after Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed evicted Occupy Atlanta from Woodruff Park, citing that they were no longer allowed to camp out overnight. The homeless shelter is also facing an eviction of its own from the city.

Messages left by CBS Atlanta for Occupy Atlanta and the Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless were not immediately returned.

This does not surprize me one bit.

Probably a common problem of many of these "Occupy" encampments.

While I have sympathy for the homeless and understand why they are co-mingleing with these groups for any kind of shelter they can find it is not going to be funny when this and maybe a major flu or serious STD epidemic takes hold. You are not going to convince me there is any kind of genuine responsible effort at monitor this situation.

Eventually it is going to break out into riots and the most vunerable that could be sheltered much more cheaply than they are could be benifiting from the money that is being wasted to clean up behind a bunch of wanna be socalled activists.

That's sure a negative spin! There must be some type of "genuinely responsible" effort if it was noticed and is being treated.

My take would be, that since we have the right to peacably assemble under the constitution, and the freedom of speech to make our voices heard, the gov't should do EVERYTHING in it's power to protect that right by providing a safe place for them to do so, NOT do their best to expose them to these elements by causing them hardships!

there was just a TB discovery in Riverside,ca as well at a college though. Just a blurp--


Do you think that TB could be a ploy to scare protestors away? It would be a good one, of course that would be terroristic.

No.

You never know...the gvnmt is a dirty lil sbich

A bunch of dirty people living outside, shitting wherever they are, doing drugs, partying constantly, getting drunk, eating crappy food and not bathing? There is absolutely no chance that they caught a disease on their own...they must have gotten it from the Government...which has openly supported their cause...DAMNIT! WHERE IS BUSHITLER WHEN YOU NEED A SCAPEGOAT!!!!!

This looks perfectly sanitary, no possibility of the spread of disease here.

Im not saying they gave someone TB, im saying there may not be a positive test result of TB....i mean, Obama never had a birth certificate, right?

I'm trying to understand...You think that the current Democrat Administration that has embraced the OWS movement has now lied and claimed that Occupy Atlanta members have TB? Why would they do that? If you don't mind my asking, did you think about this at all before you posted or is it just a reflex for you?

Its mostly just a reflex to ya know, thin out the crowds...

I'm pretty sure that large groups of homeless people tend to have individuals with TB every once in a while, which sometimes become 'groups of people with TB' before its discovered.

The only reason this is news is because it has an ows tie-in, and there are strong emotions regarding ows. It sells papers. Its not at all surprising.