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A former Michigan Tech University student has been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). The ill student is now living in another state and is being treated. Western Upper Peninsula Health Department is working with Michigan Tech to identify members of the MTU community who spent extensive time with the patient and may be at risk for TB infection.
Some MTU community members have already been contacted by WUPHD and offered TB testing. WUPHD and MTU will continue to work together to notify other people who spent extensive time with the patient and offer them testing, but local public health officials want to emphasize that there is no cause for concern among the general public.
“There is no evidence to suggest any on-going TB exposure in the campus community related to this case,” said WUPHD Medical Director Terry Frankovich, M.D., “and there is no risk to the general public.”
TB is a treatable disease caused by bacteria that usually infect the lungs, but can also infect other parts of the body. TB bacteria are spread into the air when a person sick with TB coughs or sneezes. Other people who spend a lot of time near the sick person may breathe in the TB bacteria and become infected. TB can only be transmitted through the air, so contact with objects like doorknobs, tools or clothing does not pose a risk for people to be exposed to or infected with TB.
The only way for a person to know if they have a TB infection is to have a skin or blood test. In people who have no symptoms of tuberculosis but a positive test result, this means they have a TB infection without having active TB disease. The difference is that TB infection is not contagious. It cannot be transmitted to family and friends.
To distinguish between TB infection and TB disease, a person is referred to a healthcare provider for further evaluation. Most often, this evaluation will involve answering questions about any symptoms of illness, having a physical exam and getting a chest x-ray.
Only about 1 in 10 individuals with TB infection actually develop TB disease. People who have TB infection do not feel sick, do not have symptoms, and cannot spread TB to others, because their immune system is healthy enough to keep the bacteria from growing.
Without treatment for TB infection some people go on to get TB disease, especially those who already have weak immune systems.
In situations like this, the health department undertakes a contact investigation. People who had close contact with the ill individual (household contacts for example) are being identified and tested. Any individuals with positive test results will be referred to a primary care provider for further evaluation and treatment. Those with negative tests require no further evaluation. For general TB information, please go to www.michigan.gov/tb
