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OLATHE, Kan. — Dozens more people at Olathe Northwest High School will now need to be tested for tuberculosis, less than a month after a student tested positive for an active case of TB.

So far, more than 300 people at the school have already been tested for TB, including Shanita McAfee’s son.

“They didn’t do the skin test, they did the blood draw,” McAfee explained, “so those are a much faster and accurate test result and he didn’t have any problems with it.”

McAfee’s son did not test positive for the TB infection, but 27 others did. Now health officials are investigating whether more people might have had contact with one student who tested positive for the disease last month.

“There was a commonality among about a third of those positive test results,” said Lougene Marsh, director of the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment. “That really caused us to look at whether there was a broader number of students or other school contacts that need to be tested.”

Marsh wouldn’t elaborate on what that commonality is, citing student privacy, but said about 75 more people will now be tested next week on April 8.

“Well of course it’s concerning to the students and the parents,” she said, “any of the contacts with the individual who has active TB. But we also know that the rate of transmission that we’ve identified so far is low – 8 percent.”

Marsh said only the TB disease is contagious, not the infection. So those 27 people don’t have symptoms and aren’t able to spread it to others.

It’s a relief to parents like McAfee, who applaud the school for being transparent about the investigation.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s happened,” she said, “but I still think that they’re doing a very good job of trying to stay on top of it and making sure that they notify everybody and they’re doing the best that they can to contain the situation.”

Marsh said statewide, there are only about 40 active TB cases each year in Kansas and only about six each year in Johnson County.

Tuberculosis is a disease caused by germs that are spread from person to person through the air, according to the CDC. TB usually affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, kidneys, or spine.

The CDC lists general symptoms of TB disease as feelings of sickness or weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. The symptoms of TB disease of the lungs also include coughing, chest pain, and coughing up blood.