More than 200 students at Riverside City College should get tested for tuberculosis because a student has active tuberculosis, Riverside County health officials said Friday, Jan. 11.
The student, who is not being named because of privacy concerns, is being treated and recovering, officials said.
Letters will be sent to students who may have been infected. Staff members who may have been exposed have already been notified, according to a news release from the Riverside University Public Health system and Riverside Community College District.
Those who are not notified are not considered to be at risk for exposure, and TB testing is not recommended.
An RCC student tested positive in May 2018 for tuberculosis. Countywide, about 50 or 60 people test positive each year, officials said in 2018.
Tuberculosis is spread through the air during prolonged, repeated and close contact with an individual who is infected with active tuberculosis. People may contract TB when breathing air exhaled by someone who is sick with the illness. When left untreated, TB can result in serious complications.
ABOUT TUBERCULOSIS
Symptoms: Feeling weak or sick, fast weight loss, fever, night sweats, chest pain, coughing up blood, coughing more than two weeks.
Spread by: Repeated close contact with someone with active TB.
Not spread by: Shaking hands or sharing food, drink, bed linens or toilet seats.