Confirmed case of tuberculosis at Durham high school, officials say
Officials confirmed a positive tuberculosis diagnosis at Northern High School, Durham Public Schools announced Monday night.
In a press release, DPS and the Durham County Department of Public Health announced they will be conducting a contact investigation and screening for TB cases at Northern. Because of privacy laws, neither department will release information about the individual with the diagnosis.
DPS said those at Northern who may have been exposed to TB have been notified and will be screened free of charge.
“The purpose of this investigation is to identify individuals whose exposure to a known case of TB puts them at risk, and to provide the necessary screening and treatment,” said Hattie Wood, director of Nursing and division director of Medical Services, in a press release.
Northern High School is one of two schools in North Carolina to have to test for the illness recently. Lumberton Junior High School in Robeson County also had a confirmed case last week.
Both school systems said the expected exposures to the disease are small. In Durham Public Schools, a “relatively small number of persons are likely to have been exposed, and no one is at immediate risk of any health problems,” according to the district.
Few exposures are possible in connection with a confirmed case at the Lumberton junior high, according to Public Schools of Robeson County. The school is roughly 35 miles south of Fayetteville.
“We are taking this health matter very seriously and are confident that the actions of school officials and the Robeson County Health Department are guarding the well-being of the students, staff and public,” the local school system wrote on Facebook.
The two districts are teaming up with local health officials to contact people who were possibly exposed, officials say. They may get tested for tuberculosis and receive treatment with medicines, according to parent letters.
Tuberculosis, sometimes called TB, is “a disease caused by bacteria that can damage the lungs or other parts of the body like the spine, lymph nodes or kidneys,” according to the NC Department of Health and Human Services.
People can get tuberculosis weeks or years after an infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The bacteria spreads through the air, and most people with infections won’t become sick, officials say. The illness can be deadly without proper treatment, according to the state health department.
In October 2017, more than 260 people linked to Northern High School were monitored for tuberculosis, The News & Observer reported. The measures came after a student “was diagnosed with an active case of the disease.”’
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 4:13 PM.
