Durham, N.C. – A child attending
Northern High School, located at 117 Tom Wilkinson Road in Durham, North
Carolina, has been diagnosed with probable active tuberculosis (TB). TB germs are spread through the air when
someone who is sick with TB
disease of the lungs or throat coughs, speaks, laughs, sings, or sneezes. The people near the sick person can
breathe TB germs into their lungs and develop latent TB infection, which means that they
are not sick and only have inactive TB germs in the body, or active
disease.
Staff and the parents or
guardians of children who have been in contact with the sick child while he or
she was in school, have been notified by the Durham County Health Department.
Initial testing for TB infection among persons who were exposed will be
conducted by the Health Department on Thursday, September 17, 2009 at
Northern High School, followed by repeat testing eight weeks later.
In 2008, Durham County had
15 cases of active TB. Nationwide,
the number of active TB cases has decreased since 1993. Persons who are foreign-born, have
recently traveled to a country where TB is common, have certain medical
conditions or work in healthcare settings are more likely to get exposed or
develop TB disease.
Symptoms of TB disease
include cough that lasts three weeks or longer, fever, sweating at night, and
weight loss. Evaluation for TB
disease or latent TB infection can involve a skin or blood test, review of
symptoms, and chest x-ray. TB disease can be treated by taking several drugs for
six to 12 months. Persons who have
latent TB infection can take preventative medication for nine months to prevent
disease later in life.
For more information about the most recent case of TB in Durham County,
contact Gayle Harris, health director for the Durham County Health Department,
at 919-560-7650, or Dr. Arlene Sena, medical director for the Durham County
Health Department, at 919-560-7600.
Information regarding TB can be found by visiting the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/tb.
