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11 people exposed to TB bacteria
Joplin, Mo. — Eleven people at Missouri Southern State University have tested positive for exposure to the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, local health and college officials said Thursday.
The individuals, presumably students, are not showing symptoms that would suggest they have active cases of the disease, which could cause them to pass the bacteria to others, according to Dan Pekarek, Joplin Health Department director.
A person must have an active case of the disease to spread the bacteria and even then close contact is required to communicate the bacteria. The 11 students were not requested to wear masks as a preventive measure.
However, since the students have been exposed to the bacteria, they will be put on treatment regimens that will last for months, Pekarek said, noting that TB is treatable and curable.
The cost of the treatments will be borne by the state of Missouri, not the individuals.
The 11 students were among 125 students and staff members who returned to the university Thursday to have their skin tests read for exposure to the bacteria.
The students received the skin tests on Tuesday after they were notified by the university, via paper or electronic mail last week, that they had come into contact with a student at the university who was in a contagious state for tuberculosis.
The person with TB is a male, pre-med student who is from the African nation of Nigeria, a student at the university said Thursday.
Rod Surber, university spokesman, on Thursday said the person is responding to treatment and plans to return to school when he is well.
Surber said he could not comment on whether the student is from Nigeria. He said international students, before they can enroll at Southern, must show proof that they are free of tuberculosis.
Nickie Gastineau, of Pea Ridge, Ark., the mother of a pre-med student at the university who tested positive for exposure to the bacteria, on Thursday said she was not satisfied with the arrangements that were made to handle the reading of the skin tests in Kuhn Hall.
"There were no counselors there for the students who tested positive. They had questions that needed to be answered. There was no privacy," she said. "Where were the preventive measures for this student with tuberculosis?"
She said her daughter was familiar with the student and was in a lab class with him.
"I send my daughter off to college and she gets tuberculosis," she said. "This does not look good for new recruits to this college."
Gastineau said her daughter was pleased with the attention she received from the nurse from the Joplin Health Department. She said two nurses associated with the university did not show the same level of empathy for her daughter.
Gastineau said she made her displeasure known to a vice president at the university on Thursday.
Surber said the university understands the concerns expressed by Gastineau and her daughter.
"Considering the large number who had skin tests read, we did our best to provide privacy to the individuals involved," he said. "They were put in a private room where a nurse with the Joplin Health Department read the tests.
"The individuals were consulted in private and told in private."
He said the nurses with the university did their best to calm and reassure students "that a positive test does not mean they have an active case. TB is totally treatable and curable. We did our best to be empathetic."
Surber said the university will follow the Joplin Health Department as it proceeds with the cases and the possibility of further testing.
"We will do whatever is necessary to ensure the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff," he said.
The Health Department administered skin tests to 142 students on Tuesday. The 17 students who did not show up on Thursday to have their tests read are to be contacted by the Health Department.
Pekarek said it is likely the 17 who did not come in to have their skin tests read probably showed no signs of reaction.
"We'll need to check on them and look at the whole population," he said. "About 200 letters and e-mails were sent out. We need to account for those people, too."
Pekarek said he was not surprised by the 11 positive tests.
"We will look at these cases in more depth," he said. "We will look to see if they have a significant amount of exposure to the index case. That will tell us if we were on the mark with our testing. If they have no relationship or minimal contact with the individual, that will tell us if we need more testing."
Pekarek said there is a distinct potential for more testing, "but we have identified the most likely folks. We may need to track down a few more stragglers. We have a lot of data to look at before we expand the testing.
Symptoms of TB depend on where the bacteria are growing in the body. Symptoms can include a bad cough that lasts longer than two weeks, pain in the chest, coughing up blood or phlegm from deep inside the lungs, weakness or fatigue, weight loss, lack of appetite, chills, fever and sweating at night.
Pekarek said the department cannot comment on whether the person with the TB case is employed.
"Anything to do with the personal life and employment of this individual within Joplin is our responsibility," he said. "If there is anything outside of the city, we would report that to the health agency that is responsible."
Pekarek said the reading of the skin tests on Thursday posed "a challenging environment for a mass clinic. We had to run people though a challenging situation. We needed to get it done quickly.
"When these things happen, we do not always have the situation the way we would like it to be. That includes everything from privacy to parking."
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Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, according to information posted on the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' Web site at www.dhss.mo.gov/tuberculosis.
The bacteria may attack any part of the body, but they usually attack the lungs. TB is spread through the air from one person to another. The bacteria are expelled into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs or sneezes. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.
Wally Kennedy writes for The Joplin (Mo.) Globe.
