O.C. Orders Tests for TB at Fountain Valley High

The Orange County Health Agency is ordering tuberculosis testing for all Fountain Valley High School students, teachers and administrators after two more students were diagnosed with suspected cases of the disease, the health agency announced Wednesday at a news conference.

About 2,600 students will be tested beginning March 10. About 130 students were tested two weeks ago after a girl was diagnosed with an active case of tuberculosis in late January.

The two suspected cases were discovered after they tested positive and showed abnormalities in their chest X-rays. Further laboratory testing will determine whether the students have active cases of tuberculosis.

“This is always a source of concern, but I want to allay the concerns of parents,” said Dr. Penny Weismuller, county disease control manager. “The most dangerous case of TB is the one not yet diagnosed.”

The two students with suspected cases are not contagious and are back in school, Weismuller said. Further tests will determine whether the cases are linked, by determining whether the students carry the same strain of the tuberculosis bacillus.

After the February testing, 21% showed positive skin-test results, normal for a high school, Weismuller said. All of those with positive tests were then given chest X-rays.

In the first case, the girl had been coughing for about three months when a family doctor contacted officials in late January notifying them that she had tuberculosis. The teachers and students who shared classes with her underwent mandatory testing.

The girl is hospitalized, Weismuller said, and is responding well to initial treatment. None of her family members was found to have the disease.

High school administration and faculty met Wednesday morning. Teachers read a letter to their classes explaining the testing process. That same letter was mailed to students’ homes.

Because the students had already gone through tuberculosis education and testing the first time around, most know what to expect, Carey said.

“They’ve gone through it, and we’ve informed them,” she said. “so they are well prepared.”

Though tuberculosis testing is required for teachers each year, Carey said they will be asked to be retested for precautionary purposes.

The last time an entire school was tested was in 1993 at La Quinta High School in Garden Grove. Seventeen students there were diagnosed with the disease.

The testing will take place on March 10-12, and the results will be read at the end of the week. Students who test positive will receive a chest X-ray.

Tuberculosis is curable with antibiotics. Treatment typically takes six to nine months.

Teenagers, with their active lives and close and consistent contact with each other, are particularly vulnerable to contagious diseases, Weismuller said, and tend to ignore the initial symptoms.

Symptoms of tuberculosis include persistent coughing, weight loss, fatigue, night sweats and coughing up blood.