Over 400 people will be tested starting Friday for tuberculosis after being in contact with a person carrying the disease at Lee High School in Fairfax County, Va.
The Fairfax County Health Department says two recent cases of TB have been confirmed at the high school this month. A third case, discovered in December 2012, is also under investigation, according to officials.
On June 17, letters were mailed to students and faculty members, notifying them of the Health Department's investigation. A second letter was sent to 400 students and 30 staff members recommending they be tested for the disease after it was determined they were at risk for exposure.
Fairfax County Health Director Gloria Addo-Ayensu said those requiring testing were identified as having 24 hours or more of contact with the three infected individuals. Addo-Ayensu said the specific strains of TB in those individuals have not been identified.
TB is spread through the air and can attack any part of the body, including lungs, the kidney, spine and brain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Skin tests and blood tests are usually used to determine whether a person is infected with TB. Tests will be given at the school starting Friday morning.
"Even one fatality is a shame because TB is so treatable and the medications are so cheap," Addo-Ayensu said.
TB symptoms include a bad cough lasting for more than three weeks, weight loss, fever, chills, weakness, coughing up blood and chest pain.
If not treated correctly, the disease can be deadly.
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