Weaker TB Strain Found Recently at O.C. Schools Was Successfully Treated

The largest outbreak of multiple-drug-resistant TB in a United States occurred at La Quinta High School in Westminster in 1993, when 17 students were diagnosed with active cases of the disease.

However, these cases were not as serious as the strain reported in a new study by the World Health Organization. Roberta Maxwell, program manager for Orange County’s pulmonary disease services, said each of the La Quinta cases was successfully treated.

“It was an outbreak of drug-resistant TB that was treated with a regimen of two drugs,” Maxwell said. “Each student completed the treatment successfully.”

She said the number of TB cases in Orange County has declined in the past three years, but is expected to rise slightly this year. Maxwell said 365 cases were reported in 1994, 336 in 1995 and 273 in 1996. But 234 cases were reported through September.

In the wake of the La Quinta outbreak, fears were raised in 1994 and 1995 when TB cases were discovered at two nearby high schools, Garden Grove and Bolsa Grande, as well as at Irvine Valley College.

A TB diagnosis for a girl at Garden Grove High prompted the testing of 260 of her classmates as a precaution. And 107 Bolsa Grande and 100 Irvine Valley students were tested after two cases were diagnosed at those schools.

Anyone exposed to or infected with TB bacteria will show positive test results for the rest of their lives, though that doesn’t mean they have an active case of the disease. Only 10% of those exposed come down with TB.

This past February, the Orange County Health Care Agency ordered testing for all Fountain Valley High School students, about 2,600, after three cases were diagnosed. It was the first time since the La Quinta outbreak that an entire school was tested.

Only one student had an active, contagious strain of the disease; two others who had the disease were deemed not to be contagious. The girl with the active case responded to traditional treatment, officials said.