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Tuberculosis in Lee County school
By
WINK News
Story Created:
Oct 28, 2009 at 10:16 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Oct 28, 2009 at 11:10 PM EDT
Tice, Fla - A case of Tuberculosis is confirmed at a Lee County school.
The health department says a child at Oak Hammock Middle School in Tice tested positive for TB.
Letters are being sent home with students who shared classes with the infected child. Those kids will be tested next week.
"We want to test the children to see if they are infected, and if they're infected but not sick, we can offer them a medication to prevent them from getting sick," Dr. Judith Hartner, Lee County Health Department, says.
Tuberculosis is a contagious illness spread by coughing.
Health officials say it can take weeks for symptoms to show up or for someone to be able to spread the illness, but parents should know what to look for in their child: "Unexplained fever, unexplained weight loss, a persistent cough, children sometimes just feel 'blah' and they can't explain why," Dr. Hartner says.
Tuberculosis cases are not very common; 32 were reported in Lee County last year.
