TB diagnosed in teen

PROVO — The Utah County Health Department has asked 250 Provo High School students and teachers to get tested for tuberculosis because they may have been exposed to the infection by a contagious student.

The contagious student remains unidentified because of medical privacy laws, but the health department sent letters Tuesday to students who had classes with him.

"By notifying you of this possible exposure," the letter says, "you can help us prevent new cases of this illness."

Students and teachers can get tested for the infection at the health department, 151 S. University Ave., through June 15.

"At this point, right now, we're just encouraging the students to go down and get the TB tests," said Greg Hudnall, Provo School District student services director. "It's a free test."

The student was confirmed to have tuberculosis late last week. Starting about three weeks ago, the student started undergoing a series of tests with a health-care provider.

The health-care provider contacted the health department after initial tests indicated tuberculosis, said Dr. Joseph Miner, the health department's executive director.

Even if students and teachers test negative for tuberculosis they will have to return to the health department in three months for a follow-up test.

"If they're positive right now, there's a good chance they were infected prior to this case," Miner said.

Not all people who are infected are contagious or show symptoms of TB, Miner said. Only about 10 percent of people infected with tuberculosis have so-called "active cases."

There are an average of 38 active TB cases in Utah each year, according to the Utah Department of Health. It usually settles in the lungs, although it can affect the kidneys, spine, brain and other organs.

The disease is caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis and is airborne, spread person to person but only through close contact. Vickie Anderson and Carrie Taylor, two infection-control practice nurses at LDS Hospital, describe it as passing from one person's lungs directly into another's. It's not like a cold that is easily spread and fairly hardy. In fact, sunlight kills it.

Unless the individual has a drug-resistant TB strain — "not common in Utah," said Taylor — it's very treatable, although it takes a long time and several medications. Left untreated, it can kill.