?A student diagnosed with an active case of tuberculosis on Tuesday forced Brandeis University officials to order tests for 250 students, faculty and staff, despite what is believed to be little risk of the disease spreading on campus, our news partner Wicked Local reported.
Dr. Debra Poaster, Medical Director of the Brandeis Health Center, said the university decided to test so many people as a precaution.
?We?ve been very conservative about who we?ve been testing,? Poaster said by phone Thursday evening, Dec. 6. ?So if they did not get notified they are no more at risk than if they took the Chinatown bus and sat next to a stranger for four hours.?
After Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel notified the community in an email Thursday afternoon, Provost Steve Goldstein reinforced at a faculty meeting that members of the Brandeis community should increase their awareness and knowledge of the infection but not be overly concerned about the risk of getting it.
?Thankfully the person has been isolated and is responding well to therapy,? Goldstein said to an auditorium of nearly 50 faculty and staff. ?At this stage, there is no reason to believe that anyone else has TB or is at significant risk.?
As of Thursday evening, the university was still waiting on test results from about five people who had been in immediate contact with the sick student. Officials declined to comment on whether the student was currently on campus.
Officials from the state Department of Public Health participated in campus meetings and phone calls with university administrators this week, following standard protocol for response to a TB diagnosis. Poaster also recalled a case of TB reported on campus about three years ago.
A bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes the infection. While the bacteria typically attacks the lungs, TB bacteria can attack other parts of the body, including the kidney, spine and brain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). TB can be fatal if not treated properly. Many people can be infected with TB but not show symptoms of the disease while the infection is latent or inactive, officials said.
?Some people estimate that 40 percent of the world harbors latent TB,? Poaster said.
The Mass. Department of Public Health received reports of 196 cases of active TB in 2011, and TB cases have declined by 27 percent over the past three years.
Only people sick with the active disease, spreading it through the air, can infect others. It cannot be spread through handshakes, touching bed sheets or toilet seats, sharing food or kissing, according to the CDC. Those who test positive can be treated to prevent the inactive TB from turning into the active infection. Symptoms of pulmonary TB include more than two weeks of coughing with thick, cloudy or bloody mucus; fever; fatigue, sudden weight loss or shortness of breath.
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