Tuberculosis Case Confirmed at Rockville High School

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One person at Rockville High School is being treated for tuberculosis, a contagious respiratory disease, officials said on the school’s website Tuesday.

The community letter doesn’t specify if the infected person is a student or staff member at the school, but says risk of exposure to others is low at this time. Authorities urge anyone who was in a class or after-school activity with the person between February and May 2015 to be tested.

Montgomery County Health Department nurses will provide free tests soon, school officials said. Parents should look for more information on testing times and dates within the week.

“The affected individual is being treated at this time and there is no risk of additional exposure to any students or staff at this time,” wrote Ulder Tillman, Montgomery County health officer, and Billie Jean Benson, Rockville principal, in the online letter.

Tuberculosis can affect a person’s lungs, brain, kidneys and spine, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It can be fatal and is spread through the air, such as when a person coughs or sneezes. It is treatable with medications.

Symptoms of tuberculosis are: cough for more than three weeks; fever or chills for more than three weeks; night sweats; unexplained weight loss of 10 pounds or more; or if an individual has had tuberculosis or been treated for the disease, or coughs up blood, the county health department says.

The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services encourages people with symptoms of TB to call the county’s TB clinic at 240-777-1800 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Earlier during this school year, tuberculosis cases were reported at Catonsville High School in Baltimore County and Potomac High School in Prince George’s County.

The full letter to parents says:

This letter is to inform you that a case of active tuberculosis (TB) was confirmed at Rockville High School. The affected individual is being treated at this time and there is no risk of additional exposure to any students or staff at this time.

It usually takes at least eight hours of close contact in a small room for TB transmission to occur and the air space is only contagious when the untreated patient is actually present. A healthy person cannot contract tuberculosis from casual exposure such as passing in a hall or sitting in a cafeteria for an hour.

Although the risk that your child has become infected as a result of this exposure is very small, TB officials in Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services recommend testing of all students and staff who were in any class or after-school activity with this individual between February, 2015 and May, 2015. All information about the affected individual is confidential. Your child’s test results will also be kept confidential. If testing is indicated for your child, you will be contacted via another letter within the next week. Testing is recommended to take place now and at 8-10 weeks. This allows time for TB infection to be detectable by the screening test.

Registered Nurses and other staff from the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services TB Clinic will be available to provide testing free of charge at Rockville High School at a future date. Additional information will be provided to you within the next week.

Enclosed is a Tuberculosis Fact Sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which includes basic information about TB, including symptoms and when to go to your doctor. For further information about tuberculosis, call the Montgomery County TB Control Program at 240-777-1800 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

SEE ALSO:

• Tuberculosis Case Identified in Prince George’s County School
• Tuberculosis Confirmed at Catonsville High School: Officials