Parents remain concerned after Pittsburgh student's TB diagnosis

PITTSBURGH — Frustrated parents continue to seek answers from school and health leaders after a student was diagnosed with tuberculosis.

Parents at Pittsburgh Public School’s South Hills Middle School met with school leaders Tuesday night and said they are more concerned after learning the infected child’s siblings remain in class.

“If these kids have been exposed and they don’t have an incubation period, how do we know that something isn’t going to progress into this school?” said parent Colleen Bowers.

Allegheny County Health Department officers were on hand to answers questions and said tuberculosis is not a highly contagious disease.

“It’s not very contagious. We’ve been talking a lot about measles, which is so contagious. Tuberculosis, you have to be around someone very close for a long time to contract it,” said Dr. Karen Hacker.

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) notified the Pittsburgh Public Schools Monday that a confirmed a case of tuberculosis has impacted a student of the Pittsburgh South Hills 6-8 school community. Because of confidentiality laws, the individual was not identified.

Although the student is not currently at school, the district and the ACHD proactively notified faculty and staff, as well as parents and families of the case.

"Our main priority is to provide facts and testing as needed to keep the community safe and healthy. While tuberculosis is transmitted through the air, someone can only catch TB by being in very close contact with a contagious individual for an extended amount of time," said Dr. Karen Hacker, director of the ACHD. "We are grateful for the cooperation and assistance of the Pittsburgh Public Schools administration, and the staff of South Hills 6-8, and have been glad to see their proactive response to this health issue."

With the assistance of the student's family and district staff, ACHD has begun identifying individuals who might have been exposed to this individual and will contact those at risk.

"I'm scared. It's nothing to joke about,” said parent LeeAnn Rosenberger.

Rosenberger told Channel 11 that she wasn’t satisfied with the answers she got during Tuesday’s meeting.

"They would say one thing and then turn around and say something else,” she said.

The district reached out to parents via robo calls and a letter sent home with students Monday.

“It was a little alarming because they didn't say at that point. I didn't know if it was the high school or middle school,” said parent Debbie Julian, in regard to the automated phone call she received.

Julian’s children attend Brashear High School, but she said she still has her concerns and plans to go get her children tested.

“I’m a little concerned. (I) want to know what’s being done as far as sanitizing the school,” she said.

Brittany Zuckerman, with Breathe PA, a nonprofit that educates the public on lung disease, told Channel 11 that parents have a right to be concerned, but should also keep in mind that tuberculosis is not a public health concern in the United States.

“(I’m) not alarmed at all. This is not a public health concern by any stretch,” she said.

Free TB Testing:

While the risk of infecting others is minimal, the ACHD and district administration recommends that all students of Pittsburgh South Hills receive a TB screening test to determine if they have been exposed.

ACHD will be at Pittsburgh South Hills on Feb. 17 to conduct a free TB screening test.

The district said parents can also have their children tested by their own pediatrician, but asked that the parents then share the results with the school.

The screening is a test called TST and does not require blood to be drawn. Screening will only be conducted with parent/guardian authorization.

A positive TST does not mean that a person has tuberculosis disease.

A positive test only means that a person has been infected by the TB germ. Not everyone infected with the TB germ becomes sick.

If the test is positive, further evaluation, including a chest X-ray, will be performed to rule out or diagnose TB.

If a person has a positive skin test but isn't sick with active TB, he or she isn't contagious.

Symptoms of TB disease include weight loss, fever, night sweats and a cough that lasts longer than three weeks.

Most people who are coughing during this time of year have a virus, such as the common cold or the flu.

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