The Indiana State Department of Health is investigating a confirmed case of tuberculosis in southern Indiana. A student at Rock Creek Community Academy in Clark County had active symptoms of TB, and was diagnosed on May 28 and tested positive. The student is currently isolated and responding well to treatment. A secondary suspect TB case with symptoms and abnormal chest x-ray has been identified; another individual with an abnormal chest x-ray without symptoms has also been identified.
The Clark County Health Department launched a contact investigation on May 29. Approximately 295 students and staff were tested on June 2, and 54 individuals—49 from the school and five church members in Floyd County were identified as having positive TB skin tests. The contact investigation has been expanded to all students and staff of the school, with nearly 300 additional individuals tested on June 8. Individuals who have positive skin tests do not have TB disease, but do receive antibiotic treatment so that symptoms do not develop and infection cannot be spread to others.
The State Health Commissioner says TB is a rare disease in the US but remains a serious illness. Tuberculosis is an airborne disease caused by bacteria that usually attack the lungs, but can also attack any part of the body, including as the kidney, spine and brain. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal. It’s spread through the air from one person to another when a person with active TB disease of lungs or throats coughs, sneezes or speaks and people nearby breathe in the bacteria and become infected.
The disease can be successfully treated by taking several drugs for six to nine months.
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