North Georgia college student diagnosed with tuberculosis

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A local college is screening hundreds of students for tuberculosis after a student tested positive.

Officials at the University of North Georgia Oakwood campus say as many as 250 students and staff may have been in contact with the infected person.

They sent out an email this week notifying students and staff that a student had been diagnosed with active tuberculosis and is now receiving treatment off campus.

Officials say that while the risk of becoming infected is low, they’re taking every precaution to keep the community safe.

“It’s kind of scary. I don’t want to have to go through that,” student Shelby Leopard said.

She's one of many students on edge.

“I’m kind of concerned, because I don't know if I was in contact with that person,” student Alison Groves said.

The Georgia Department of Health has been called in to determine if other students were infected. They note that TB, spread by airborne droplets, usually from coughing, is far less contagious than the flu.

“They cough and send those droplets into the air. Someone has to breathe them in,” said Dave Palmer, who works for the health department. “'You have to prolonged close contact in order for you to become infected with TB.”

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The health department will conduct free on-campus TB screenings next week to 250 students, faculty and staff who may have had contact with the infected student through shared classes and activities. The health department expects some to show signs of infection.

“It's not unusual for up to 20 percent of the people who get the tuberculin skin test to have a positive reaction. And if they do, we will do further screening on those individuals,” Palmer said.

Several students say they will make sure they get tested.

“I don't want to spread it anybody else,” one said.

TB is treated with antibiotics, but it can be deadly.

Tuberculosis initially attacks the lungs. The symptoms include fatigue, chronic cough and blood-tinged phlegm during coughing.

Nurse practitioner Julie Rites told Channel 2’s Tom Regan that if untreated with antibiotics, the germ can ravage the body and lead to death

“It can spread to other organs if untreated. It originally effects the lungs, but if left untreated it can start attacking the kidneys, spine, bones, that type of thing,” Rites said.

The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 9,500 cases were reported in the United States in 2015. That was a slight increase from 2014.

In 2014, 493 people died in the United States from TB.

In Georgia, the state says more than 10 people a year die from TB. Last year, 300 people in the state were diagnosed with the disease.

Cox Media Group