COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Tuberculosis was confirmed as the cause of death of a patient who died at Colorado Springs' Memorial Hospital shortly after arriving at the emergency room on Friday.

It was not known what type of TB killed the 19-year-old student from Nepal but officials held an afternoon news conference to discuss the case.

The El Paso County Coroner said the woman's name is Kalpana Dangol.

Colorado Department of Public Health and Department officials said they don't believe Dangol died from Multi-Drug Resistant TB, adding that they don't believe the case is connected to that of an Atlanta man who is being treated with an extensive drug-resistant case of TB at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver.

Officials made it very clear at the conference that Dangol may never have been contagious. They said it is possible that she contracted TB from Nepal before returning to the U.S. Officials initially wouldn't say which country Dangol was from, but stressed that other countries have a higher rate of TB cases than the U.S.

"It's important enough to keep our eye on it from the public health standpoint to make sure we have the resources to control tuberculosis, but it's a relatively low risk for everyone else," said Dr. Ned Calonge, chief medical officer for Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Calonge said Dangol may have had TB for months before she began to show symptoms.

Officials said Dangol was put in an isolation room and air flows controlled as a precautionary measure. Staff and family also wore personal protective gear.

The patient was initially identified only as an international student at Colorado State University-Pueblo, who had recently been living in Colorado Springs. Health officials said an investigation has begun to identify and contact those who would have had contact with Dangol during the time she may have been contagious. They said they are looking at the time frame between February and when she died on Friday.

Andrew Speaker, an Atlanta lawyer whose case of extensive drug-resistant tuberculosis attracted international media attention, is being treated at National Jewish.

Tuberculosis kills 1.6 million people around the world every year. It killed 662 people in the United States in 2004, the most recent year for which statistics were available.

In 2006, there were 13,767 cases of TB reported in the U.S., the lowest ever, according to the National Tuberculosis Controllers Association. But 20 states reported an increase in cases over 2005, and the District of Columbia had the highest rate -- 12.6 cases per 100,000 people.

Other Resources

El Paso County Health Department 719-578-3199

Pueblo County Health Department 719-583-4300

Colorado Health Department