By BJ Austin, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-988465.mp3
Dallas, TX – The Dallas County "Tuberculosis Unit" is in Ennis this week to help test Ennis High School students and staff. A teacher is on medical leave with an "active case" of TB. KERA's BJ Austin says health officials want ALL students and staff to get screened.
CDC.gov: Basic TB Facts / Signs & Symptoms
The tuberculosis screenings at Ennis High School have been going on for two weeks. State health officials say so far 817 people have received the TB "skin test". 180 came back positive. Officials say not all students and staff at the high school have been tested, and they need to be. Dallas County Health Department director Zack Thompson says he and his staff are eager to help.
Thompson: Because we know diseases are not restricted by borders. That's why we're going to support the state in the TB response in Ennis. We're just as concerned as the residents of Ennis.
Susan Kent directs the Dallas County TB Unit. She says a positive tuberculosis result stays with you for life. But she says the average person only has a 10% lifetime chance of actually becoming sick. And she says there are medicines that greatly reduce that risk.
Kent: It's very treatable. You take your preventative medicine it reduces your risk down, I think like one to two percent of going on and developing active disease.
Kent says the TB bacteria cannot be spread by casual contact. She says it takes prolonged, close contact with a person who has the active form on the illness. Kent says a person with a positive skin test is NOT contagious. Ennis Regional Medical Center is also offering free TB tests starting this week.