Tuberculosis Case In Concord School System

CONCORD, NH — Both state and local officials have confirmed a case of tuberculosis has been found in the Concord school system.

During a COVID-19 state press conference, Dr. Benjamin Chan, the state epidemiologist, confirmed state health officials were investigating a case in SAU 8, the Concord School District. He did not confirm specifics about the school location or whether or not it was a student or employee.

School Superintendent Kathleen Murphy confirmed the case was connected to Concord High School. She said the district would be holding a district-wide information meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday. So far, Murphy said, there was not a danger to the general public, but officials were working with both the district's medical team and two doctors from the state.

Contact tracing was underway, being performed by school nurses and officials, Murphy said. That information will be given to the Division of Public Health. State officials will then be contacting any students or staff, as well as their families, to “determine next steps,” which more likely, would be testing, she said.

“It is a process and they want to be very careful and watchful of what they do,” Murphy said. “It’s not like the flu or COVID where you’re in somebody’s face and all of a sudden, you have it. It’s a much slower process.”

Murphy informed faculty members not long before reaching out to parents and the community about the district’s public information plans.

Tuberculosis or TB is a highly infectious disease that most often strikes a person's lungs. There are as many as 10,000 cases in the United States annually. Symptoms include coughing with bloody mucus, fever, sweating at night, and weight loss.

Got a news tip? Send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel.