KS: Students at Olathe Northwest High School to be tested for TB

[Shiloh]

Source: http://fox4kc.com/2015/03/04/olathe-...for-active-tb/


315 students at Olathe Northwest High School to be tested for TB
Posted 4:31 pm, March 4, 2015, by Abby Eden and Michelle Pekarsky, Updated at 02:00pm, March 5, 2015

OLATHE, Kan. ? A student at Olathe Northwest High School has been diagnosed with active tuberculosis and now health officials deemed it necessary that 315 students be tested for the disease...

[Pathfinder]

Additional TB cases identified at Olathe Northwest High School

March 18, 2015

Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and Johnson County Department of Health and Environment (JCDHE) report that out of the more than 300 students and staff tested for tuberculosis (TB) at Olathe Northwest High School, only 8 percent (27 people) have tested positive. Health officials began calling those with TB positive test results on Monday and letters were mailed to the homes of those with negative test results (no infection).

?The number of individuals with TB infection does not exceed what we would anticipate in this setting,? said Lougene Marsh, director of the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment. ?Of course, we had hoped we wouldn?t find any additional TB cases, but we knew this was a possibility. That?s why we took such thorough steps to test everyone who might have been in close contact with the first confirmed case of TB disease.?

People with TB infection are not contagious, do not feel sick, and do not have TB symptoms. People with TB disease can spread the bacteria to others, feel sick and can have symptoms including fever, night sweats, cough and weight loss.

Individuals with positive test results will take a chest x-ray and begin treatment with antibiotics to kill the TB bacteria to prevent the development of TB disease. Chest x-rays and medication will be provided free of charge by KDHE and JCDHE.

?Early identification and treatment of TB infection is the key to preventing progression to TB disease,? said Marsh. ?That?s why we are working so closely with the school and KDHE to investigate this case and assure that all precautions are being taken for the safety of everyone in the school and the community.?

Blood tests will be repeated on May 5 for those contacts who were identified as exposed to TB disease during the spring semester of the school year. This second test is necessary as it can take up to eight weeks for TB bacteria to show up positive in a TB test.

For more information about TB, visit www.cdc.gov/tb or JCDHE?s website, www.jocogov.org/jcdhe.

http://www.jocogov.org/dept/health-and-environment/home

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.kmbz.com/Four-new-cases-o...hwest/21366605

Posted: Tuesday, 14 April 2015 5:49PM

Four new cases of tuberculosis in Olathe

OLATHE, Kan. - Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Johnson County Department of Health and Environment report that out of the approximately 70 additional individuals tested for tuberculosis at Olathe Northwest High School last week, four additional people have tested positive for the infection.

Johnson County health officials initially tested 300 people after one student came down with active tuberculosis - 27 of them came back postive for an infection...

[Shiloh]

Source: http://fox4kc.com/2015/05/08/in-late...for-infection/


In latest testing for tuberculosis at Olathe NW high school, nine people test positive for infection
Posted 4:35 pm, May 8, 2015, by FOX 4 Newsroom

OLATHE, Kan. ? Nine people tested positive for the tuberculosis infection following another round of testing by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Johnson County Department of Health and Environment...