Cobb and Douglas Public Health said Friday that around 300 students and staff at Walton High School will have to undergo testing for tuberculosis next week.
Valerie Crow, director of communications for the agency, said in response to an inquiry by East Cobb News Friday afternoon that the testing will take place Tuesday at the school.
Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that is spread by germs through the air and attacks the lungs and other parts of the body.
Crow said there is one confirmed case of tuberculosis at Walton “and not an outbreak,” but she couldn’t provide more specifics due to federal student privacy laws.
Walton has an enrollment of nearly 2,700 students, one of the largest in the Cobb school district.
Crow said her agency and Cobb County School District staff identified those who may have been exposed and will be administering a mandatory Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) on Tuesday.
She said that “even though the risk is very minimal, Cobb & Douglas Public Health (CDPH) is offering every precaution as recommended by the State of Georgia TB Guidelines.”
Cobb and Douglas Public Health is an agency of the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Crow said those individuals who need to be tested but don’t do so at school Tuesday will be required to get tested by a private doctor.
“They will be responsible to provide a written report on physician’s office letterhead verifying the test was completed, with the date, and test result before they will be permitted to return to school,” Crow said.
She said a positive test means someone has “been exposed to someone with active tuberculosis,” and that all of those who have a positive reaction “will have a chest x-ray to rule out active disease.”
Crow said that if the test x-ray is negative, “they will be offered preventative medication. If the chest x-ray is positive, they will be treated for the disease.”
She provided a link to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control that explains TB exposure in more detail, and “especially the ‘what to expect if you have been named as a contact of someone with active TB disease’ section.”
At least one private pediatric practice in East Cobb has notified patients about the matter, saying that “we understand that receiving this letter could be distressing for your family but want to reassure you that the Department of Public Health will be appropriately screening for any potential infection.
“We ask that you please cooperate with their efforts to make sure your student is properly monitored post-exposure.”
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