January 05, 2006

Panhandle Health District to Re-screen High School Students for TB

COEUR d'ALENE, Idaho - Panhandle Health District will re-screen all students and staff at Coeur d'Alene High School for tuberculosis on Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 9 and 10. Tests will be evaluated on Thursday and Friday at the high school. There will be no charge for the test.

The initial screening took place in October after one student was diagnosed with active tuberculosis disease. Nineteen individuals showed positive reaction to the first test. However, that reaction does not mean the individual has tuberculosis or will develop the disease.

A positive reaction to the test could mean a variety of things:

• The individual had a TB vaccination in another country at some point in his/her life.
• The individual was exposed to TB at some point in his/her life.
• The reaction was a false positive.
• The reading of the test site was in error.
• The individual simply had an unusual reaction to the test itself.

All 19 have undergone further evaluation by health professionals. None of the 19 has developed TB symptoms or active tuberculosis.

The 19 positive reactions are insignificant at this time. Because tuberculosis is a very slow-growing disease, anyone exposed to the disease in September or October would probably not have developed detectable antibodies to the bacteria that would have shown up in the initial screening. By the January screening, anyone exposed will be more likely to show reaction to an exposure. The initial screening was done primarily as a baseline to use as a comparison to the January screenings.

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.

Each student and staff member at the high school will receive 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 will evaluate the injection site three days later.

Parents or others with questions about the TB screening may call PHD at 415-5100.

Anyone with symptoms of TB should contact their private care provider. Symptoms of TB are:

• 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.