Health officials warn of possible tuberculosis case at Western Washington University

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Health officials warn of possible tuberculosis case at WWU

KIRA M. COX; THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
Published: 02/05/10 1:36 pm
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BELLINGHAM - A Western Washington University student living on campus may have active tuberculosis, according to university health officials.

The student has been isolated and will remain so until testing to confirm the diagnosis is completed. If the diagnosis is confirmed, the student will remain in isolation until determined not contagious by the Whatcom County Health Department.

WWU and the Health Department are working to identify anyone who had close contact with the student. If the diagnosis is confirmed, those people will be notified and tested. The simple skin test is not 100 percent accurate, which is why the diagnosis needs confirmation.

Tuberculosis, also known as TB, is a bacterial infection that usually settles in the lungs. The infection generally spreads when a sick person coughs or sneezes and other people inhale the bacteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/1058426.html

 

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Re: Health officials warn of possible tuberculosis case at Western Washington University - confirmed

Re: Health officials warn of possible tuberculosis case at Western Washington University - confirmed

Excerpt:

The possible case of tuberculosis at Western has been confirmed, Dr. Emily Gibson said, director of the Student Health Department.

?People who are not identified as close contacts are not at significant risk for infection. We are working closely with the university to determine who had close contact and prolonged exposure and will evaluate them for infection,? Whatcom County Health Department officer Greg Stern said.

Stern said the student will remain in isolation until it is determined that they are not contagious, which can take two weeks or more, depending upon the strength of the student?s immune system and how responsive the student?s body is to the medication. Overall treatment can take six months or more.

?There is no reason to panic. Tuberculosis is less contagious than many other bacteria and viruses, such as measles, chickenpox and influenza,? Stern said. ?It usually takes prolonged exposure to high levels of tuberculosis bacteria in the air to cause infection.?
Gibson said those students who have been in close contact have already had skin tests done; two students were tested on Friday, and the third student was tested Monday. The results from the tests will most likely be back Wednesday, Feb. 10. The Whatcom County Health Department will then decide whether to extend testing to other students.

Gibson said even if the three additional students test positive for tuberculosis, they would not be contagious due to the slow growth of the infection.

They will have what is called latent TB infection, in which the bacteria lives within the body but the immune system prevents the bacteria from spreading and making them sick, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gibson said the students would then have a chest X-ray and be encouraged to take medication to prevent the bacteria from becoming active.

?Without medication the rate of infection can increase 10 percent,? Gibson said. ?The medication drops the risk of developing active tuberculosis significantly.?
For more information about tuberculosis please see the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) web site.

http://westernfrontonline.net/20100...ill-waiting-for-second-test-for-confirmation/