SAN ANTONIO – Northside ISD officials are alerting parents that a student at Brandeis High School has a confirmed case of tuberculosis, and students at both Brandeis and Clark High School may have also been exposed.
The district is holding community meetings Wednesday night about the cases and the procedure for identifying and testing anyone who may have been exposed.
The first meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at Brandeis, and the second will be at 7 p.m. at Clark.
In an email and letter sent to parents, Brandeis Principal Geri Berger said the school was notified by Metro Health that a student had tested positive for TB and that some students and staff may have been exposed.
The student is said to be in stable condition and will not return to campus until he or she is no longer infectious.
Parents of students who may have been exposed will be contacted by letter from Metro Health.
In a press release, Metro Health said parents or staff with clinical questions about TB should call the Metro Health TB Chest Clinic at 210-207-8823.
Metro Health said the following about tuberculosis:
TB is an infection caused by bacteria that typically affects the lungs. Information from the American Pulmonary Association states it is not easy to contract an infection of tuberculosis. Usually, a person must have close contact with the infected person for a substantial length of time to contract TB. Casual and limited contact with a person with active TB is not enough for someone to pass it on to others. TB infection and disease can be treated with medication.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the general symptoms of TB include feelings of sickness or weakness, weight loss, fever, and night sweats. The symptoms of TB disease of the lungs also include coughing, chest pain, and the coughing up of blood.
TB disease is treated with medication over a period of 6 to 12 months.