Starting Friday, more than 400 individuals will be examined for tuberculosis in Fairfax Virginia, according to NBCWashington.com. This comes after two students from Fairfax’s Lee High School recently became sick with the disease. Another case was confirmed in December 2012.
The Fairfax County Health Department is requesting 400 LHS students and 30 staff members be tested. According to Gloria Addo-Ayensu, health director for the county, the people who have been asked to receive testing are those who have been in contact with the infected individuals for at least 24 hours. She said health officials have not determined which type of TB the individuals are carrying.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis.” Normally it goes after the lungs but can also affect other body parts such as the kidney and brain.
This is how TB Spreads:
TB is spread through the air from one person to another. The TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.
TB is usually detected through blood and skin tests, which will begin at the school Friday morning. The school issued letters to 1,900 families, notifying them of the three confirmed cases. Another 430 letters were sent to families that had a member who was at a higher risk of catching the disease. According to Addo-Ayensu, most cases within Fairfax are very treatable. They are not the more alarming strains which are able to fight antibiotics.
