TB Test Results Returned For Irving High School Students
IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) - Tuberculosis test results are in for Irving high school students and staff who were tested earlier this week.
The free testing was prompted by a student who attended Nimitz High School last spring and is now being treated for TB.
Out of the 130 students and staff tested, five tested positive. The positive tests indicate that these five people where exposed to TB from contact with the diagnosed patient.
However, a positive test does not mean a person has TB.
Those who tested positive will not get chest X-rays and will be put on preventive medicine so they do not develop TB, according to an Irving ISD spokesperson.
The Dallas County Department of Health and Human Service offered the free testing, but will not conduct an investigation because of the low number of positive tests.
DCHHS would have broadened its investigation if at least 25% of students and staff tested positive. The positive test rate in this case is only about 4%.
Nimitz High School parents and students were notified last week that a student attending the school had been diagnosed and was being treated for TB.
Testing was recommended for anyone who came into contact with the student during the spring semester of 2012-2013.
Due to health privacy laws, the district has not identified the student.
According to the DCHHS, a person infected with TB disease must be exposed to others for several hours in an enclosed environment for several days for the disease to spread.
Both TB infection and TB disease are treatable and curable.
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