People at school campuses at both ends of San Diego County have been diagnosed with tuberculosis and may have infected students and employees, the county Health and Human Services Agency reported today.
The HHSA is working to notify those who might have been exposed by the unidentified carriers at Vista High School and San Ysidro Middle School.
The period of exposure at Vista High School was between Aug. 20 and Oct. 30, according to the HHSA. The agency scheduled a free testing clinic at the campus on Dec. 18.
At San Ysidro Middle School, exposure might have occurred between July 31 and Nov. 28, the HHSA said. Testing is scheduled for Dec. 10.
"Symptoms of active TB include persistent cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss,'' said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer. "TB usually requires many hours of close, indoor contact to spread to others, so most people who are exposed in classrooms do not get infected or develop the disease.''
The illness is treatable with medication, she said.
Her deputy, Dr. Eric McDonald, said there are usually more tuberculosis cases in San Diego County each year than most other places around the country, though the local infection rate has been declining recently.
HHSA officials said 213 cases of TB have been reported in the region in 2012, compared to 263 last year.
