Parents of students who attend Clayton High School are being alerted about a student possibly being exposed to tuberculosis, commonly known as TB.
Johnston County School officials learned of the possible exposure on Monday prompting the principal to notify parents of all Clayton High students.
The exposure is believed to have affected a limited number of people.
If a student is at risk of potential past exposure to tuberculosis they will be contacted and will be tested.
Officials cautioned this was not a health emergency and the number of persons being potentially exposed was small. An exact number was not released.
Dr. Marilyn Pearson, Health Director at the Johnston County Health Department told WTSB News on Tuesday a “probable case of TB” was being investigated but the case had not been confirmed. The health department was working with school officials including school nurses to investigate the number of people possibly exposed.
Dr. Pearson said a letter was sent home on Monday. Those who may have been exposed and will need to undergo testing will get a second letter. Pearson said the current investigation would determine how many people would be tested. She would not give any estimates but said it would not be a large number.
As for the student who may have been exposed to TB, Dr. Pearson said privacy laws prevent disclosing any information about the person but confirmed they are following treatment guidelines from the Division of Public Health and Center for Disease Control.
According to the Mayo Clinic website, tuberculosis is a potentially serious infectious that mainly affects your lungs. Bacteria that can cause tuberculosis is spread from one person to another through tiny droplets released into the air from a cough or a sneeze.
According to the website, many strains of TB resist many drugs used to treat the disease. People with active tuberculosis must take several types of medications for many months to eradicate the infection and prevent development of antibiotic resistance.
Signs and symptoms of active TB include:
- Coughing that lasts three or more weeks
- Coughing up blood
- Chest pain, or pain with breathing or coughing
- Unintentional weight loss
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Night sweats
- Chills
- Loss of appetite
Tuberculosis can also affect other parts of your body, including your kidneys, spine or brain. When TB occurs outside your lungs, signs and symptoms vary according to the organs involved. For example, tuberculosis of the spine may give you back pain, and tuberculosis in your kidneys might cause blood in your urine.
