Twenty students at Science and Discovery High School tested positive for latent tuberculosis when the Pennsylvania Department of Health administered a test of 200 students, Chester Upland School District officials confirmed Tuesday.The affected students must now undergo a chest X-ray to determine whether they have active TB, Department of Health Press Secretary Holli Senior said. Active TB is a bacterial disease that usually affects the lungs, and if left untreated, can be deadly.The Department of Health is working closely with the families of the affected students to ensure the students receive necessary medical follow-ups, Senior said.though the students tested positive for latent TB, that doesn’t guarantee they’ll test positive for active TB, Senior said.“it just means at some point in their lifetime, they were exposed to tuberculosis,” Senior said. “It’s important to understand if individuals have a positive reading, that doesn’t necessarily mean … they have active TB.”Science and Discovery, which serves students in grades 9 to 11, remains open. Science and Discovery is the only school in the district affected, Chester Upland spokesman Joel Avery said.Senior said the Department of Health did not see a need for the school to close temporarily. She said health officials met with parents and school officials to offer information regarding TB and stress the importance of chest X-rays for those with latent TB.“There’s not necessarily any other precautions that should be taken at this time, aside from ensuring if they have questions, to ask (them),” Senior said.Because latent TB is not contagious, Senior said students are fine to attend classes unless they develop symptoms of active TB, which include coughing, chest pain and coughing blood.The affected students didn’t necessarily receive the germs at school, Senior said. The tests simply conclude they were exposed to TB at some point in their lives and have been carrying the inactive germs ever since.Because latent TB can evolve into active TB, the students need chest X-rays to ensure that evolution hasn’t begun.“We need to make sure that those individuals have medical follow-ups,” Senior said. “That’s where we’re at right now.”The state health center is following up with those individuals to determine whether the students will see their primary care physicians or utilize the center’s TB clinics.Doctors typically prescribe drugs to patients with latent TB in hopes of preventing active TB, according information published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. those who contract active TB must take medicine for six to 12 months.After officials at Chester Upland became aware a student had been exposed to someone with active TB, acting Superintendent Dr. Joyce Wells said the district sent two letters to parents informing them of the situation and requesting permission for students to undergo a skin test for latent TB.last week, Wells also hosted an assembly with Science and Discovery Principal Michael Adamek and the school’s head nurse to recommended students take the skin test for TB.“they seemed calm and concerned,” Wells said. “they asked great questions. … We assured them of what we knew and understood about the disease and what we were going to do as the next step.“those who brought back consent forms, which was the vast majority of the school, were tested. from that point on, the Department of Health takes over in terms of follow-ups. They’re working very closely with us.”Given the circumstances, Wells said she was pleased with the way the district handled the situation.“I think that our principal and the lead nurse did an excellent job and our parents did an excellent job of responding,” Wells said.The facts about tuberculosis Disease: Tuberculosis, or TB, is a disease caused by germs transmitted through the air. it typically affects the lungs, but can also affect the brain, kidneys or spine. if left untreated, TB can be deadly.Symptoms: TB disease can cause feelings of sickness or weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. TB disease of the lungs can cause coughing, chest pain and coughing up blood.Transmission: TB germs are transmitted when a person with TB disease coughs, sneezes, speaks or sings and another unaffected person breathes in the germs, which can stay airborne for several hours. that person contracts TB infection.TB infection versus TB disease: someone with TB infection has TB germs, but because the germs are inactive, the person is not affected or contagious. However, the germs may become active. someone with TB disease has active TB germs, which multiply and destroy body tissue. The person usually shows symptoms and is contagious.Testing: those who have spent time around someone with TB disease should be tested for TB infection. Both skin tests and bloods tests are available. if one tests positive for TB infection, the person must undergo another test, generally a chest X-ray or sputum sample, to determine if they have TB disease.Treatment: Doctors usually prescribe drugs to people with TB infection to kill the germs and prevent TB disease. To treat TB disease, one must take several drugs for six-12 months.Prevention: A vaccine, Bacille Calmette-Guèrin, exists, but is generally not recommended in the United States. it does not completely prevent people from contracting TB disease and may cause a false positive skin test.Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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