SC Middle School Scare: TB Infection Possible, Report To Be Out By Dec 30

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Rockhill, S.C. - Parents of children studying at Castle Heights Middle School at Rockhill, SC are concerned and anxious that their children might have been exposed to the fatal disease of tuberculosis or TB. On December 23, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control had warned parents that a possible case of TB has been discovered at this SC middle school.

According to The State, once the confirmation report comes out on December 30, the staff and student will also be tested for the possible exposure to disease.

TB is relatively rare in the US. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2015, the state of South Carolina reported just 104 cases of tuberculosis. In the York county, only seven cases were reported.

This does not change the fact that TB remains one of the deadliest diseases of the world. Last year, 10.4 million people around the world became sick due to TB, while 1.8 million died because of it. About one-third of the world's population is infected with TB today.

The lung or throat TB is the one that is infectious. The bacteria that causes tuberculosis spreads by speaking, singing or sneezing in such cases. TB bacteria may attack other parts of the body too, such as the brain, kidney or spine but they are not infectious.

Not everyone who is exposed to TB bacteria becomes sick immediately. They may develop latent TB, which makes them sick when their immune system weakens due to other reasons. Hence, it becomes hard to detect. Such people cannot spread TB to others but they still need to be treated in time so that they do not develop the disease afterward.

Some of the common symptoms of TB patients include pain in the chest, a bad cough that lasts for three weeks or longer, fever and chills, weight loss, sweating at night, and fatigue. It can be effectively treated with the help of drugs if correct measures are taken in time.

The state health agency says that lab tests will be completed by December 30. The parents will be informed whether the germ that causes TB was found at the SC middle school or not.