Active tuberculosis case at Hiram Johnson High School prompts concerns
SACRAMENTO — On Thursday night, parents concerned about an active tuberculosis case at Hiram Johnson High School may have a chance to ask their questions.
Last month, a case was detected at Elk Grove High School.
"It is kind of scary to think about," said Aliyah Chavez, a sophomore student at Hiram Johnson High School.
A county representative tells CBS13 that the county has reported 66 active tuberculosis cases this year.
Sacramento City Unified School District confirmed that there are 236 people who were possibly exposed. They all have received information on testing.
Dr. Dean Blumberg, a Pediatric Infectious Disease expert at UC Davis Health, said there are two types of screening: skin and blood tests. Both are reliable in detecting tuberculosis. It is important to note that medical experts say the U.S. has one of the world's lowest TB case rates.
According to Dr. Blumberg, exposure to active tuberculosis does not always mean one will contract infection — and many with tuberculosis infection rarely develop tuberculosis disease.
"It's not that easy to transmit," he said. "In general, people need to have close and prolonged contact to get infected."
If someone is infected, it may take weeks or years before tuberculosis becomes active.
Why? Bacteria multiplies slowly before getting into the lungs.
If an infection is detected quickly, sometimes medication can prevent activation.
Other times, nature takes its course.
"90 percent of the time, people are infected and have no disease. Their immune system takes care of that," Dr. Blumberg said.
In other words, doctors say one out of ten people develop active tuberculosis if infected with the disease.
"Me personally, I'm not scared, but I do get sick sometimes," said Juli'aunna Taylor, a freshman student at Hiram Johnson High School.