A case of high-school associated TB in Seattle emerges
More than 100 people associated with Rainier Beach High School are being tested for Tuberculosis (TB) after one person was diagnosed and is now getting treatment for the serious, airborne disease.
TB is an infectious disease caused by bacteria that are passed from person to person through the air through coughing or sneezing, but Public Health said it is much harder to spread than COVID-19, a cold, or flu, and typically requires repeated and prolonged exposure in a confined indoor space to become infected. Even in households with one person who is contagious with TB, Public Health said, only about one in three close household members become infected.
Public Health – Seattle & King County is following up on the confirmation of an individual associated with Rainier Beach High School, in Seattle, who was diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB). Public Health is working with Rainier Beach High School to define the extent of any potential TB exposures and supporting the school as Public Health conducts evaluations for those exposed and provides guidance and information to staff, students and families.
"We will be doing testing really to ensure that the school community is safe," Medical Director of King County's TB Control Program Dr. Caitlin Reed told KOMO News.
Public Health said the person associated with the school who has active TB disease is receiving treatment and is no longer considered contagious. Most cases of active TB are readily treatable with commonly available antibiotics, and treatment typically takes six to nine months, according to Public Health.
Officials also noted the difference between active TB disease and latent TB infection. People with latent, or dormant, TB infection cannot spread it to others and are not ill with the disease.
"Typically, what we look for are patients with what we call a latent infection. It’s dormant, sleeping; it’s not an infection that can be spread to anybody else but is contained fully by the immune system," Dr. Caitlin Reed added. "We don’t expect to find a lot of infections or a big outbreak or anything like that."
A case of high-school associated TB in Seattle emerges, bringing the total to 2 of TRAC states with a high-school associated TB outbreak right now.
