The Bethpage School District has reported that an individual associated with the district’s high school is being treated for tuberculosis, according to a letter sent out to the community by Superintendent David Schneider on Thursday, Feb. 5.
“The person is under the supervision of healthcare professionals and is receiving appropriate medical treatment,” he said.
Schneider said Nassau County Health Department officials are working closely with the district to identify potential close contacts. He said officials are in the process of contact tracing and will notify parents if they determine an individual is a close contact and needs an evaluation.
Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease that can spread through the air when a person with an active infection coughs, sings, or speaks, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms can include chest pains, a cough and coughing up blood, according to the CDC.
“Transmission usually requires frequent and prolonged contact in an enclosed space, such as with family members. The risk of transmission to the general school population is considered very low,” Schneider said.
In January, the Patchogue-Medford school district informed parents that an individual from its high school was being treated for tuberculosis as well. The Bethpage School District is the only one in Nassau County to have reported a TB case this year.
