October 21, 2005

Panhandle Health District to test high school students for TB

COEUR d'ALENE, Idaho - A student at Coeur d'Alene High School has been diagnosed with active tuberculosis disease. As a result, the Idaho State Epidemiologist, Dr. Christine Hahn, has recommended that tuberculin skin testing be provided to all students and staff at Coeur d'Alene High School.

Panhandle Health District will administer tests for all students and staff on Monday and Tuesday at Coeur d'Alene High School. Tests will be evaluated on Thursday and Friday at the high school. There will be no charge for the test.

Active TB, caused by bacteria that attack the lungs, is infectious and can be spread through the air when a person with TB disease coughs, sneezes, laughs or sings. People nearby can breathe in these bacteria and become infected.

In most people who become infected, the body is able to fight the bacteria to stop it from growing. The bacteria become inactive (latent), but remain alive in the body and can become active later in life. TB infection can be successfully treated with antibiotics.

The first step in determining if tuberculosis has spread to any students or staff at the high school is to perform a test called the tuberculin skin test (TST or PPD). The tuberculin skin test is an injection of a small amount of noninfectious tuberculin solution just under the skin of the inner forearm. Health district personnel must evaluate the injection site three days later.

Because of the long incubation period for TB, the test will have to be repeated in three months to determine if any exposed individual's immune system has reacted to the exposure.

An informational meeting for parents will be held at Coeur d'Alene High School Auditorium at 6 p.m. today. Representatives from the school district and from PHD will be on hand to provide information and to answer questions.

A medical hotline has been set up at Panhandle Health District for parents and others connected with the school to call for information. The hot line number is (208) 415-5234.

If a student from Coeur d'Alene High School is currently ill with the following symptoms, please contact your doctor:

• A bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
• Pain in the chest
• Coughing up blood or sputum (phlegm from deep inside the lungs)
• Weakness or fatigue
• Weight loss
• No appetite
• Chills
• Fever
• Night sweats