Three Narva Hospital patients may have contracted tuberculosis via medical devices
Three patients at Narva Hospital may have been exposed to tuberculosis (TB) through contaminated medical equipment, prompting an urgent investigation into safety failures and the hospital's sterilization procedures.
An internal investigation has been launched at Narva Hospital after three patients were suspected of being infected with a TB pathogen, potentially transmitted through a medical examination device.
Narva Hospital Director Üllar Lanno said: "So far, we know that traces of the pathogen detected during post-examination inspections were transferred via the bronchoscope, and that the two cleaning devices operate at different temperatures, which may have facilitated pathogen contamination."
He added that the hospital's cleaning equipment underwent maintenance in February 2025.
Narva Hospital reported that during routine testing, traces of a TB pathogen were incidentally detected in samples taken from bronchoscopes.
As a result, three patients who had recently undergone lung examinations using these devices are now suspected of having been exposed to the tuberculosis pathogen.
Lab tests confirmed the presence of the bacterium on the examination equipment.
"I assure you that the hospital is doing everything possible for patient well-being, and we will keep them under active pulmonary specialist monitoring for two years. This is the generally accepted period during which symptoms of the disease may appear. At present, the disease has not yet developed," Lanno went on.
Two of the patients remain at Narva Hospital, as they are receiving treatment for pre-existing health conditions, while the third has been transferred to Ida-Viru Central Hospital, which specializes in respiratory infectious diseases.
According to Lanno, an internal investigation is now underway to determine the possible root causes of this safety incident.
The case has been officially registered in the hospital's patient safety database, which serves multiple purposes, including managing patient safety, analyzing safety incidents, learning from these cases, assessing preventive measures, developing health policies, and conducting statistical and scientific research.
TB is a bacterial infectious disease that most commonly affects the throat or lungs. However, infection does not always lead to illness.
Only 5–10 percent of those infected develop symptoms, meaning most individuals exposed do not contract active TB. The highest risk of developing the disease occurs within the first two years following exposure.
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Editor: Merili Nael, Andrew Whyte
