Case of Tuberculosis Prompts Student Testing

In Norwalk, Conn., hundreds of students at Brien McMahon High School face TB testing because one student has been diagnosed with an active case of the disease. City and school officials said the student was preliminarily diagnosed by a private physician last week. On Monday morning, lab tests confirmed that the student had contracted TB. The school district planned Tuesday to send about 220 letters to parents whose children may have had close contact with the infected student. The letter recommends testing for those students. A different letter will be sent to the families of the remainder of the 1,260-member student body offering TB screenings for any student who wishes to be tested. "The student is on the way to recovery and should be back in school at some point in the future," said Norwalk Health Department Director Timothy Callahan. A Norwalk student last tested positive for active TB in 1998; in that instance, 900 tests turned up no additional cases.

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