text: Parents of Santa Clara County babies exposed to tuberculosis fret over treatment – The Vacaville Reporter
  SAN JOSE — Carlos Saenz and his wife, Nora, haven"t stopped worrying about their infant daughter since Santa Clara County health officials called them this month with troubling news: Little Brianna may have been exposed to a nurse diagnosed with active tuberculosis.
  Now, like the anxious parents of 349 other babies born recently at Valley Medical Center, the Saenzes will have to feed Brianna a daily dose of a sweet liquid antibiotic for up to nine months to ensure she doesn"t develop the potentially deadly disease.
  "It"s not like taking a Tylenol every day to prevent a headache," said her father, Carlos, a 34-year-old San Jose plumber. "She"s only 6 weeks old."
  For the Saenzes, the incomparable joy of caring for a healthy newborn has turned into the stress of watching for side effects of the drug called Isoniazid, which could include nausea, dizziness and blurry vision — symptoms the couple aren"t sure most parents would easily recognize.
  "How could she tell us?"" Saenz wondered.
  No wonder Saenz said he feels "50-50"" about giving Brianna the medication.
  "Could it affect her for the rest of her life?"" he asked.
  Pediatricians say it"s unlikely.
  The drug, which is almost exclusively used to prevent TB from developing or becoming active in a person"s body, is generally well-tolerated by babies. Moreover, doctors say, any fractional health risk from the drug is better than the alternative of a baby developing TB, which can severely damage more than just an infant"s lungs, and also lead to meningitis.
  "I would understand the reluctance of taking the medication, but in this case you also don"t want to risk the child having TB," said Dr. Dean Blumberg, associate professor and chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis.
  About 900 babies were born during a three-month period the nurse worked at Valley Medical Center"s mother and infant care center, but officials say only 350 may have been exposed. Since then, Brianna and the others have been undergoing chest X-rays to determine if TB has surfaced in their tiny lungs — yet another procedure that alarms parents.
  As of Friday, two-thirds of the possibly exposed babies born between mid-August and mid-November had received a chest X-ray and none were positive for TB.
  The babies" mothers and another 338 employees also may have been exposed, county public health officials said.
  While she remains concerned about the drug"s side effects, the San Jose mother of two said, "I would rather have it under control than not knowing if the TB is there."
  Dr. Stephen Harris, head of pediatrics at VMC, said the babies will be seen monthly by providers who specialize in TB, for any side effects, including jaundice, which would signal whether the drug is impacting the baby"s liver — again, something he believes would be extremely uncommon for infants, although adults with already impaired livers may be more susceptible.
  "Our expectation is that this won"t come up, but we are treating 350 babies," said Harris, adding that it is difficult to determine side effects in infants. But babies with nonspecific symptoms will receive a blood test to make sure their livers are healthy.
  "It does not cross-react with any other type of antibiotic that would be routinely used for other infections,"" said Blumberg.
  Elizabeth Valdez, 32, doesn"t know much about the details, only that her 10-week-old son is among those possibly exposed, and now must endure the nine-month-long treatment.
  "When you go to the hospital you think you"re safe, but not after this," Valdez said. "It scares me."