Third Round of Tests Ordered in Oologah, Oklahoma

The Oklahoma State Health Department has ordered a third round of TB tests on students at the Oologah-Talala School District. A second case of TB was confirmed on Dec. 31, with the first student testing positive in November. "The students [who tested positive] are being tutored at home and will not be allowed to return to school until the school receives a clearance from a hospital and the health department," Superintendent Mike Campbell said.

Rogers County health officials are watching to see if any other students come down with TB. School officials held a public forum for the community and school employees.

The two Oologah cases brought the state total of TB cases in 2001 to 174; up from 154 in 2000. The increase in 2001, according to Dr. Jon Tillinghast, TB control officer for the state, resulted from three situations involving outbreaks in Rogers, Coal, Comanche and Jackson counties, with a large number of people exposed.

In Rogers and Coal, the outbreaks centered on a school. The Comanche cases involved about 10 people testing positive, and some of those may have moved to Jackson County. Significant delays in diagnosis of the Comanche cases allowed for prolonged exposure, Tillinghast said.

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