COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Around 300 students and staff members at Walton High School will be tested for tuberculosis on Tuesday after a possible exposure.
The Cobb & Douglas County Public Health Department confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that it, along with Cobb County Schools, has identified those who may have been exposed to the infection.
Per HIPAA guidelines, the department and district are not allowed to release the names of those who have been possibly infected.
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Officials say students and staff who don’t get tested on Tuesday will need to go to their physician to get tested and bring back a written report confirming the test.
On Thursday, the health department will return to the school to read and measure the reactions to the tests.
The health department says a positive test would mean the person tested has been exposed to someone with active tuberculosis. Then, the positive tests will take a chest X-ray to rule out having the active disease.
Health officials say that if the test X-ray is negative, they will be offered preventative medication, while if the X-ray is positive, they will be treated for the disease.
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The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says tuberculosis germs can get into the air “when a person with active TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, speaks, or sings.”
TB germs are not spread by shaking someone’s hand, sharing food or drink, touching bed linens or toilet seats, sharing toothbrushes or kissing, according to the CDC.
“It is important to know that a person who is exposed to TB germs is not able to spread the germs to other people right away. Only persons with active TB disease can spread TB germs to others,” the CDC says.
Click here for more information information to know from the CDC if you or your child has been exposed to tuberculosis.
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