ST. CHARLES COUNTY — An individual at Hollenbeck Middle School has been diagnosed with a case of active tuberculosis, the county's Department of Public Health said Monday.
Health officials said there is no reason for the public to be concerned, and that everyone identified as a close contact to the affected individual is being notified and will be tested. Students must have parent permission to be tested.
The health department did not indicate whether the infected person is a student, staff member or someone else. The school is part of the Francis Howell School District.
TB is a contagious lung disease spread through the air through prolonged, repeated and close contact, the health department said. Only those with active infections can spread the disease. Treatment for active infections typically require a lengthy course of antibiotics that can last between four and nine months.
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Individuals diagnosed with a latent infection do not have symptoms and cannot spread the disease, however an antibiotic regimen can keep it from becoming infectious.
Among the symptoms are a bad, long-lasting cough, chest pain and phlegm, along with weakness, fatigue, chills, fever, loss of appetite and night sweats.
The health department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that TB is not spread by shaking someone's hand, sharing food or drink or touching bed linens or toilet seats used by an infected person. It's typically spread among people who spend time together every day, officials said.
Mary Enger, the communications director for St. Charles County, said five cases of TB have been diagnosed in the county this year. There were 19 cases of TB in Missouri in all of 2021, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
Individuals in St. Charles County who wish to be tested for TB can do so by contacting the health department at 636-949-7484. The cost for a test is $20.
