TB Testing Nearly Done; 1 Case Found

With school-wide tuberculosis testing nearly completed at Fountain Valley High School, only one additional student has been found with an abnormal chest X-ray.

That student is out of school. Two other students who had shown positive results to TB skin tests and who also had shown symptoms of the disease returned to school Tuesday after officials deemed them not infected.

Testing for 1,950 students began March 10; as of Tuesday, only 20 students were still due to receive the skin tests. Of those tested, 164, or 8%, tested positive. Most people with positive skin tests ultimately prove not to have the disease; chest X-rays and other tests are required to confirm a case of TB.

Tuberculosis became a campus issue after a student was found in January to have an active case of the disease. She now is in good condition and is at home recovering, said Dr. Penny Weismuller, disease control manager for the county Health Care Agency.

After that case was found, health officials in February tested about 200 students who have classes in common with the patient. That testing revealed two students who had the disease but were not contagious. Those students are in school and on medication, Weismuller said. Officials then extended mandatory testing to the rest of the campus.