Tuberculosis case reported at Ventura County elementary school, health officials testing students
Health officials said they received the positive test result on August 11, on the first day of school for McKevett Elementary Academy of Visual and Performing Arts. It is not known if the infected person is an adult or a child.
Exposure is a concern, as TB germs can easily spread through the air when an infected person coughs or speaks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Tuberculosis is a serious, treatable, and slow-growing bacterial disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There are two variants: inactive TB or active TB disease. TB germs can live in the body without making a person sick, making it inactive TB.
Without treatment, people with inactive TB can develop active TB disease at any time and become sick, and it could become fatal if not properly treated.
TB germs become active if the immune system can't stop them from growing; this is active TB disease. People with TB disease feel sick, with symptoms primarily felt in the lungs.
VCPH is in the process of evaluating all students, staff, and faculty who may have been exposed to TB, and parents have been notified.
Health officials will host an informational meeting on Aug. 18 at 6:30 p.m. to answer questions and to share information about the risk of exposure to TB and plans for testing.
The meeting takes place at Isbell Middle School's multipurpose room, at 221 South 4th Street, Santa Paula.
There is a vaccine for TB disease, but it is not generally used in the U.S.
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