GWINNETT, Ga. — More than a month after a student at a Gwinnett high school was diagnosed with tuberculosis, school officials said it appears more students have tested positive.
On March 1, the Gwinnett County Health Department informed Discovery High School of the student's diagnosis. That day, the district sent a letter home to parents informing them off the risk and that the health department would be at the school to conduct skin tests on nearly 240 students identified as those who likely came in contact with the illness.
Weeks later, the district expanded the testing to the remaining students and staff. A final round of testing was held in the school's auditorium Monday, April 12.
Since then, a spokesperson for the school district confirmed that more students tested positive for the illness based off the skin test, which means they may have been exposed to, but are not necessarily sick or contagious from tuberculosis. The county Department of Health did not specify the number of additional students who tested positive.
If a student has tested positive, the district said they will need to undergo a follow-up chest X-ray.
According to the DPH, Georgia averages around 300 cases of TB infection every year and TB is typically found in places where people are in close contact for long periods of time, like correctional facilities, homeless shelters and schools.
The bacteria is airborne and can be spread through a persistent, painful cough. The disease can be deadly, particularly among those with weakened immune systems, but it is generally treated by a six to nine-month course of medications.
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