(Image source from: Hundreds of Newborn Babies and mothers)

In a stunning announcement, officials of A South Bay hospital says hundreds of newborn babies might have been exposed to tuberculosis after a nurse who worked in the infant care center tested positive.

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center employees are calling and sending out hundreds of letters to patients, who came into contact with the nurse from mid-August through mid-November advising them they may have been exposed to TB.

Dr. Stephen Harris told NBC Bay Area a nurse who worked in the infant care unit tested positive for the tuberculosis."She was not even coughing," Harris said. "It was unlikely she was highly contagious."

According to Santa Clara County Health Department,350 babies, 368 mothers and 338 hospital staff might have exposed to employee, who is now on leave. As a precaution, hospital is recommending all 350 infants be treated with antibiotics for the next six months.

"Because the babies have an immature immune system, the bacteria can get into their bloodstream. From the bloodstream it can go everywhere in the body, including the brain, We've decided to do chest x-rays and treatment for these babies to protect them from potentially getting tuberculosis," Harris said.

Dr. Lisa Winston, a UC San Francisco professor of medicine and hospital epidemiologist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, said both tuberculosis skin testing and blood tests can be negative in people who have latent TB and people who have active TB."It is also possible the nurse contracted TB between September and November," she said. "But given the short time frame, one might guess that a false negative test is more likely.”

According to hospital, the infected nurse was tested in September and the result was negative. Anyone who doubts they were exposed can contact the hospital at (408) 885-3444 to book an appointment. That is a big thing, that’s not something to be taken lightly.

Health Officials said, antibiotics kill the tuberculosis bacteria that can prevent the infant from getting harm.  Only active tuberculosis can be spread, inactive or latent tuberculosis can only reside in the body for a period and can become active again.

All the testing and treatment will be free of cost, mothers can book special appointments for screening, testing and to provide medication. Hospital staff is always available for any query related to situation.