Gwinnett County Schools officials on Monday asked more than 300 Lilburn Middle students to be screened for tuberculosis after two sixth graders tested positive for the disease.
The public health department will offer the free tuberculosis screenings Friday on campus as a precaution. It will be the second round of testing at the school.
The first round of testing was performed in February after a student tested positive for TB and was treated for it. A second student who was part of the initial test group also tested positive. That student had non-infectious TB, said Suleima Salgado, spokeswoman for the East Metro Health District.
“There is no way of telling whether or not they are related,” Salgado said. “Since this is the second case at this school at that grade level we are erring on the side of caution and we are going to test the remaining sixth graders who weren’t tested in the first round.”
Approximately 313 students and 45 staff members have been invited to be screened Friday.
A letter from Lilburn Middle principal Gene Taylor was sent home with students Monday asking parents to give their consent for the TB skin test. The letter told parents the disease was "hard to spread to others" without "close
and continuous contact over hours."
TB is caused by bacteria that usually attack the lungs, but also can attack the kidney, spine and brain. If not treated, TB disease can be fatal. It is transmitted through air when a person coughs, speaks or sings and infects others nearby.
Students tested Friday will meet with a nurse Monday to get their results. If further follow-up treatment is needed, students will be told to either visit their family physician or contact the Preventative Health Clinic in Lawrenceville. For more information, visit www.eastmetrohealth.com.
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