San Diego County's Tuberculosis Prevention and Care Program today announced a possible exposure to tuberculosis for students and staff at Innovation High School in Chula Vista.
The county is working with the school to notify any people potentially exposed to the disease from June 1 to Sept. 4 of this year. Those at highest risk of infection have already been notified. No-cost TB screening is being arranged for students and staff who are at increased risk of infection.
Tuberculosis is an airborne disease spread through the inhalation of bacteria from an infected person. County health officials said individuals in congregate settings such as schools are at higher risk of exposure.
"Symptoms of active TB include persistent cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss," said Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan, county public health officer. "Most people who become infected after exposure to tuberculosis do not get sick right away. This is called latent TB infection. Some who become infected with tuberculosis will become ill in the future, sometimes even years later, if their latent TB infection is not treated.
"For people who think they may have been exposed, blood tests and skin tests are an effective way to determine an infection."
Those who test positive, but do not have symptoms, likely have latent TB and are advised to get a chest X-ray and consult with a medical provider, health officials said.
TB cases in San Diego County have been on the rise since 2020. Health officials reported 193 cases in 2020, 201 in 2021, 208 in 2022 and 242 in 2023. In 2024, a total of 247 people were reported with active TB disease in San Diego County.
County health officials said an estimated 175,000 in the county have latent TB infections and said that without treatment, 5% to 10% of those people are at risk of developing active TB disease.
