Students tested in TB scare (teacher died-TB suspected)

[rainbow4321]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D87I71401.html

About 250 fourth and fifth grade students and 15 teachers were tested for tuberculosis Tuesday after a substitute teacher died apparently from the disease.

Results from the skin-prick tests should be known by Thursday, Weslaco schools Superintendent Richard Rivera said.

Rivera said some parents of Rico Elementary School pupils already have tested their children; all results so far are negative. He said some alarmed parents last week pulled their children out of school, but most of those children have returned.

All the students had been in classes taught by 37-year-old Sandra Torrez of Weslaco, who worked at the school from September through December, and died Jan. 3. It has not yet been determined if she had tuberculosis but it was suspected, Rivera said. He said she had a cough and seemed to have a cold, though she only missed a couple of days of work.

[Flatland Dem]

1. wow, weird timing

I just had a TB test today because I'm going to work as a sub for the next semester. The county nurse actually told me that TB is on the rise in the US. No point to any of this...just odd.

[DemBones DemBones]

3. Weird that Texas doesn't require a TB test for subs and teachers.

Maybe they do it by school systems.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[ugarte]

2. Very weird

I've known people with TB and never heard of it being a sudden killer. It's usually a very gradual disease.

[rainbow4321]

4. Test indicates TB exposure for two children

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D87IU5GG0.html


Initial testing for tuberculosis showed that two elementary school pupils may have been exposed by a substitute teacher who apparently died from the disease in January, but chest X-rays showed both were clear of the disease.

All fourth- and fifth-grade pupils and some faculty at Rico Elementary School underwent skin-prick tests for the disease Tuesday. The results were expected Thursday.

Some parents already have tested their children, including the two who had chest X-rays taken.

All the pupils had been in classes taught by 37-year-old Sandra Torrez of Weslaco, who worked at the school from September through December, and died Jan. 3. It will be several more weeks before it can be determined if Torrez had tuberculosis, said Lydia Cerna of the Hidalgo County Health Department

[GoldenOldie]

5. Not your Grandma's type of TB

There is a more virulent TB than that once encountered and this new strain is much more difficult treat. The health officials and the media have made little mention of it for reasons ...... who knows?

If the Texas Board of Health is doing their job, they are not only testing the children and co-workers but also anyone this young lady has been in contact with. It doesn't appear that the autopsy has been done or results are not yet found. Their could be many reasons for the cough, ie., an extremely fast growing cancer, that was dismissed as a bad cold, etc.

Here in the West, good Pediatricians, test all of their toddlers for TB.

[Ilsa]

6. Everyone in Weslaco should probably have the skin test.

I would think that a positive skin test could come up if someone had contact with her in the grocery store.

[Red State Rebel]

7. My daughter had TB, Dr.'s told me the problem is

that in the poor communities, people are not as stringent in taking the medicines or making sure their children take them.

The treatment and medicing are FREE, but when my daughter had it, it required making sure she took 2 or 3 different pills every single day for over a year, and taking her to the Dr. (county health center) every month.

As a single mom, it was a pain to deal with but certainly worth the inconvenience.

These days, people take the pills for a month or two or three and then stop messing with it - that is how the resistant strains are coming about.

Unfortunately, there is no pill to cure stupid.