Tuberculosis

[dl meckes]

Evidently we are following Westlake, with a case of tuberculosis being reported today.

If you want to learn more, here is a link to the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/tb/.

[Betsy Voinovich]

Evidently we are following Westlake, with a case of tuberculosis being reported today.

If you want to learn more, here is a link to the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/tb/.

Hi all,

I just received this in my email, probably along with every other parent in the school district:

From:
ALERTNOW Message from Lakewood City SD
In an effort to provide ongoing communications about events impacting our school community, the Lakewood Schools felt it was important to forward the following information:

The district received information late Thursday, Jan. 5, from the Cuyahoga County Tuberculosis Program that a member of the West Shore Career-Technical District, housed at Lakewood High School, tested positive for tuberculosis. The case was confirmed through the TB Clinic at MetroHealth Medical Center.

This person was diagnosed over winter break and has not returned to school. Experts in the TB Clinic have advised the risk is extremely low to our West Shore community and that the school does not need to close. Of those few individuals who may have been exposed, the risk remains extremely low. The TB Clinic will be in contact with these individuals. The District is working in close cooperation with the TB Clinic, which has advised against the need for general testing in our community.

Any questions can be answered by Cuyahoga County TB Program at 216-778-8083

A robo-call also came from the District with the same information.

DL-- I hadn't heard about Westlake. What happened in Westlake?

Betsy Voinovich

[Kate McCarthy]

Betsy, it's the the same student at both Lakewood and Westlake High Schools.

http://www.wtam.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=122520&article=9574023

[dl meckes]

Thanks, Kate!

I love TV news.

[Peter Grossetti]

We should ban tuberculosis!

[Betsy Voinovich]

Hi all,

I looked this up (from the CDC website that D.L. posted) because I know so little about this. I didn't think anybody got TB anymore. I figured if it was important enough for the District to send out a robo-call, and email to every parent last week, it was worth looking up. Here are the basic facts. The site has a lot more information if you're interested. http://www.cdc.gov/tb/

Betsy Voinovich


Basic TB Facts

"TB" is short for tuberculosis. TB disease is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.

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 active TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.

TB is NOT spread by

* shaking someone’s hand
* sharing food or drink
* touching bed linens or toilet seats
* sharing toothbrushes
* kissing

Latent TB Infection and TB Disease

Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection and active TB disease.

*
Latent TB Infection

TB bacteria can live in your body without making you sick. This is called latent TB infection (LTBI). In most people who breathe in TB bacteria and become infected, the body is able to fight the bacteria to stop them from growing. People with latent TB infection do not feel sick and do not have any symptoms. The only sign of TB infection is a positive reaction to the tuberculin skin test or special TB blood test. People with latent TB infection are not infectious and cannot spread TB bacteria to others. However, if TB bacteria become active in the body and multiply, the person will get sick with TB disease.
*
TB Disease

TB bacteria become active if the immune system can't stop them from growing. When TB bacteria are active (multiplying in your body), this is called TB disease. TB disease will make you sick. People with TB disease may spread the bacteria to people they spend time with every day. Many people who have latent TB infection never develop TB disease. Some people develop TB disease soon after becoming infected (within weeks) before their immune system can fight the TB bacteria. Other people may get sick years later, when their immune system becomes weak for another reason.
For persons whose immune systems are weak, especially those with HIV infection, the risk of developing TB disease is much higher than for persons with normal immune systems.