The Birkham Health Center recently reported a case of tuber­cu­lo­sis in a Ferris student.

According to health cen­ter offi­cials, the uni­ver­sity was informed of the TB diag­no­sis by a health depart­ment in another county. Director of Birkham Health and Counseling Center Paul Sullivan said he feels the chance of mul­ti­ple stu­dents becom­ing infected is minor.

“It is very doubt­ful we will have any other pos­i­tives from this case,” said Sullivan. “It is not often trans­mit­ted within a class­room setting.”

Students and fac­ulty mem­bers who have come in con­tact with the indi­vid­ual are being noti­fied and offered free tuber­cu­lo­sis test­ing begin­ning April 5 at Birkham Health Center.

Results of the test will be read by Birkham staff on April 7. Those tested will also be asked to pro­vide an addi­tional TB skin test within 10 to 12 weeks to ensure no reac­tions to bac­te­r­ial exposure.

The American Lung Association reports that tuber­cu­lo­sis is an infec­tious dis­ease that usu­ally infects the lungs. However, the dis­ease can attack any part of the body. TB is spread per­son to per­son most often through the air. It can be spread in a vari­ety of ways includ­ing cough­ing, sneez­ing, laugh­ing, or even talking.

Currently, the iden­ti­fied stu­dent is being treated for tuber­cu­lo­sis while com­plet­ing semes­ter courses online. For infor­ma­tion regard­ing tuber­cu­lo­sis or indi­vid­ual test­ing, con­tact Birkham Health Center at ext. 2614. n

Related Posts

No related posts.