AURORA | A woman at the immigration detention facility in Aurora has tested positive for tuberculosis.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which contracts with private jail operator GEO Group to run the facility near East 30th Avenue and Peoria Street, the woman was diagnosed March 22 during a follow-up medical screening.
Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for ICE, said in an email the woman was transferred to the Aurora facility after federal agents encountered her illegally crossing into the US from Mexico.
Jailers notified Denver Public Health of the woman’s diagnoses, Rusnok said. ‘
A spokesman for Denver Public Health said the agency is notified any time there is a tuberculosis diagnoses.
“We opened our investigation late last week, and we tested and educated affected individuals yesterday. No test results are available yet. At this time, we don’t think there’s a risk to the public, but we always educate about TB,” he said.
Rusnok said detainees with diagnoses like this one are separated from the general population and placed in medical segregation with ventilation to prevent the spread of disease.