TB testing underway at Olathe Northwest

Hundreds of students at Olathe Northwest High School on Wednesday were tested for tuberculosis after a student last week was found to have an active case of the disease.

Johnson County and Kansas state health workers were spending the day at the school drawing blood from about 300 students and about 20 school staff members. Each of those being tested were identified as either having been in class with or in contact for a period of time with the infected student, said Jennifer Dunlay, risk communicator with the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment.

The affected student, who is not being identified, was diagnosed last Tuesday. Health officials met the next day with school employees. All students were notified and an electronic message was sent to parents.

Tuesday night, health department officials answered parents’ questions during a forum at the high school at 21300 College Blvd. in Olathe.

“It is very difficult to get TB,” Dunlay said.

The blood samples drawn Wednesday will go to a testing lab in Topeka. It will be several days before results are known, Dunlay said.

Those who test negative will be notified by a letter. Those who test positive will receive a telephone call for county health officials. It’s expected that everyone will be informed by the end of next week.

Tuberculosisis an infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs. It’s spread through the air by coughing, laughing, singing and sneezing. But a person would have to be in close contact for several hours a day with an infected person to contract the disease. It cannot be spread by a handshake or a drinking glass, desk or other surfaces.

Health officials said TB is a very slow-growing organism, and only about 10 percent of people infected with it actually develop the disease. It may take days before an infected person shows symptoms.

Symptoms may include a cough that lasts more than three weeks, severe weight loss, intense night sweats, fever and chills, and coughing up blood. TB typically is treated with antibiotics, but if left untreated, it can be fatal.

This story was originally published March 11, 2015 at 11:57 AM with the headline "TB testing underway at Olathe Northwest."