TB Screening Begins at La Habra High School

Tuberculosis screening began Wednesday at La Habra High School to test students and staff who were in close contact with a senior who earlier this month was diagnosed with a contagious form of the disease.

“Things went very smoothly,” said Ron Anderson, assistant to the superintendent at the Fullerton Joint Union High School District.

Anderson said of the 291 current and former students who were requested to participate in the screening, 229 were tested during the school day.

In addition, he said, 85 teachers and other school personnel took the test, which will determine if they have the TB bacterium in their bodies.

The test was conducted jointly by school nurses and county public health nurses, who on Friday will inspect the prick sites on the test-takers’ arms to look for hardening of the skin that would indicate a positive response.

Those who test positive, health officials said, will immediately receive chest X-rays to find out if they have active tuberculosis.

Roberta Maxwell, program manager for the county’s pulmonary disease services, said her office has arranged for a portable X-ray machine to be brought to the high school Friday.

Anderson believes the majority of current students who were recommended for the tuberculosis screening were tested Wednesday.

He said of the 232 students whose parents were notified of the testing, all but 15 brought signed parental permission slips to school.