Westlake High School community member diagnosed with TB

WESTLAKE, OH (WOIO) -

The Westlake City School District administration was contacted by the Cuyahoga County Tuberculosis Program Wednesday after school dismissal, to communicate that a member of the Westlake High School community was diagnosed over break as having contracted tuberculosis (TB) by the TB Clinic at MetroHealth Medical Center.?

This person has not returned to school since winter break, and experts in the TB Clinic have advised the risk is extremely low to our high school community and that the school does not need to close.?? The risk is even smaller elsewhere in the district because the individual has no link to the other buildings.

The district met with representatives from the TB Program early Thursday morning to put protocols in place where information can be posted and, while the likelihood is very low TB was contracted at school, voluntary TB testing will be offered to all WHS students and employees as an extra precaution.?

TB skin tests will be offered Tuesday, Jan. 10, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Westlake Schools Performing Arts Center lobby by nurses from the Cuyahoga County TB Program. The tests will be read 48 hours after placement on Thursday, Jan. 12, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., also in the Performing Arts Center lobby.

Any high school student or employee who misses this testing window and who wishes to be tested may be tested at no cost at the MetroHealth TB Clinic, or you have the option of going through your primary care physician.

Anyone who has a negative skin test result during the first round of testing will be asked to have a repeat skin test after three months to ensure they are not affected as an additional precaution. Dates for these repeat tests will be set up through Westlake High School and communicated nearer that date.

The district has arranged to have a physician from the County TB Program available for a brief informational meeting for parents, students and employees to ensure anyone with additional questions can have those addressed.? The meeting will be held on Friday, Jan. 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the Westlake Schools Performing Arts Center.? Additional information about TB can be found on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/TB. You can link to this information from the school district website at www.wlake.org.

Additional questions can be answered by Cuyahoga County TB Program at 216.778.8083. Parents who want their WHS student(s) tested must fill out a permission form, which will available online at www.wlake.org. Forms also will be available in the WHS main office. A student cannot undergo the TB skin test on Jan. 10 at WHS without that permission form. Students should bring the signed form with them on Jan. 10.

Copyright 2012 WOIO. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.woio.com/story/16454890/health-alert

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