Hundreds have been tested at Emory University after school officials confirmed that some students, faculty and staff members may have been exposed to a custodian with an active case of tuberculosis, Channel 2 Action News reported.
In more than 43,000 emails sent to the campus community, Emory said the exposure may have occurred between Aug. 1 and Feb. 2. The university is working with the state and local health officials to determine who may have been exposed, officials said.
“The notification and testing of those persons on campus who were substantially exposed to our employee have already begun,” Emory said in its email. “There is no medical reason based on the facts of this case to recommend general testing of the Emory community.”
The infected person worked on the Druid Hills campus and died Feb. 2, apparently unaware he had the disease, the university said. The DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office determined on Feb. 17 that the employee had tuberculosis.
The custodian, a night shift supervisor cleaned about nine buildings on campus, none of them dormitories, Channel 2 reported. He reportedly had minimal contact with students.
Emory said it immediately investigated the employee’s work times and date of employment and ordered university departments to notify and establish a protocol for screening potentially exposed persons.
So far, Emory has had TB skin tests performed on about 400 persons. Anyone who tests positive would get a chest X-ray followed, if necessary, by treatment with antibiotics.
“Tuberculosis is an airborne infectious disease that is spread person-to-person through air droplets,” according to Emory’s email. “Tuberculosis is not spread by shaking someone's hand; by sharing food or drink; or by touching bed linens, toilet seats, door handles, telephones or other hard surfaces.”
A person exposed to the tuberculosis bacteria is not able to infect others unless that person develops an active case of the disease, which usually takes at least several months, the university said.
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