More than 200 Georgia high school students called in to get tested for tuberculosis after a student is diagnosed - the state's third case in 2 weeks

  • A student at Discovery High School, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, was diagnosed with tuberculosis last week
  • The bacterial disease infects the lungs and can be fatal without treatment
  • Around 226 students will be tested by the Gwinnett County Health Department on Wednesday
  • This is the third tuberculosis case reported in Georgia in two weeks  

By Mary Kekatos Health Reporter For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

More than 200 Georgia high school students have been called into the school nurse to get tested for tuberculosis after one student was diagnosed with the life-threatening, infectious disease.

A letter was sent to parents on Friday from the principal of Discovery High School, in Lawrenceville, notifying them of the teenager's condition.

The letter also revealed that students and faculty may have been 'in close and continuous contact' with the infected student, reported WSB-TV.

According to the Gwinnett County Health Department, the teenager, who has not been identified, is currently at home receiving treatment.

This is the third tuberculosis case reported in Georgia in two weeks. 

Nearly 230 students at Discovery High School, in Lawrenceville, Georgia (pictured), are being tested for tuberculosis after one student was diagnosed with the deadly disease

Nearly 230 students at Discovery High School, in Lawrenceville, Georgia (pictured), are being tested for tuberculosis after one student was diagnosed with the deadly disease

'Our school is helping the Gwinnett County Health Department as they determine which students and faculty may have been in close and continuous contact with this student and therefore possibly exposed to tuberculosis,' the letter read in part, according to WSB-TV. 

'These identified individuals will need to have a TB skin test. This test, administered by health officials, will be done free-of-charge at the school.'

The Gwinnett Daily Post reported that 226 students - about 10 percent of the school's population - will be tested by the health department on Wednesday and results will be ready on Friday. 

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that affects the lungs caused bacteria known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

When someone with TB coughs, sneezes or talks, infected droplets are sprayed into the air, where other people can inhale them and are then infected. 

It cannot be spread, however, by shaking someone's hand, sharing food or beverages, or even kissing.  

Symptoms include a cough that lasts for at least three weeks, chest pain, weakness, fatigue, fever and coughing up blood or mucus.

According to the Mayo Clinic, TB infections began rising in 1985 due to the HIV epidemic.

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, weakens the immune system and leaves the body unable to fight off the infection.

TB is a leading killer of people who are HIV infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

If left untreated, TB can spread throughout the body, causing inflammation, liver and kidney problems, and meningitis - and ultimately be fatal.

Treatment involves taking multiple antibiotics for several weeks or, in more difficult cases, several months.  

The CDC said that about 9,100 people were infected with TB in the US in 2017, a two percent decrease from the previous year.  

In the last two weeks, one case each was confirmed in Model Elementary and Johnson Elementary schools last week in Floyd County, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. 

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