University of Houston student diagnosed with tuberculosis

In an announcement Tuesday, the university said the student had been diagnosed with the disease was being treated away from campus and was no longer a health risk to others. The student’s identity wasn’t revealed.

“The university is working closely with the Houston Health Department to identify any student, faculty or staff member who should be tested for TB infection,” Jon Rusciano. interim executive director of the university’s student health center, said in letter announcing the diagnosis. “The Houston Health Department determines who needs testing based on the type of exposure a student or employee has had to the sick individual.”

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People who have a tuberculosis infection can feel sick or weak, and suffer weight loss, fever and night sweats, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC said other symptoms may include chest pain, cough or expectorate blood. The disease is treatable with drugs.

The university learned about the diagnosis from the City of Houston Health Department. Public announcements did not, however, make it clear when the student fell ill.

No other students, staff or faculty members had been diagnosed with the disease as of Wednesday. But school officials said some people might receive notifications in coming days about the need to be tested because of their close contact with the sick student.

Contact tracing is being done by the Houston Health Department, the university said.

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“Please be assured that we are taking this situation seriously — your health is of utmost importance,” Rusciano said.

Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that can be contagious and can be spread through the air. The ill student was diagnosed with active tuberculosis, which means germs are multiplying and destroying tissue in a body, according to an information sheet put out by the university.

People with tuberculosis of the lung or throat can spread the infection to others when they cough, sneeze, speak or sing, the statement said. The germs can stay in the air for several hours, but the disease is rarely spread between people who have short, casual contact with an infected person.

Tuberculosis cases are not unheard of in the United States, but are far less frequent than they were even 20 years ago.

In 2000, there were more than 16,000 cases of the disease diagnosed in the U.S., according to the CDC. In 2020, the number of diagnosed cases had dropped to 7,171. Last year, there were 8,331 cases of tuberculosis diagnosed in the U.S., including more than 1,000.

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Tuberculosis was once one of the deadliest diseases world, causing as many as a 25 percent of deaths in Europe and United States from the 17th to 19th centuries, according to the CDC.

In more recent years, there have been reported tuberculosis cases in Pearland, Fort Bend County and Sugar Land, though none were reported to result in widespread outbreaks.  

The university will hold public forums about tuberculosis next week to answer peoples questions about the disease and the response to it.

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