Parents of students at Southport High School in Indianapolis received a phone call Wednesday, April 22, from Principal Barbara Brouwer informing them that students and staff members had been exposed to tuberculosis (TB) by another student.

The Marion County Public Health Department is recommending that any students and staff who have been exposed get a TB test to check whether or not they have been infected. Arrangements have been made for testing next week and the school has said it will directly notify those affected.

Letters will be sent with more details to families whose children attend the school. Parents can also call a nursing supervisor with questions.

The symptoms of TB, an airborne disease caused by bacteria, include a bad cough that lasts for more than two weeks, chest pains, fatigue, fever, chills, night sweats and weight loss or loss of appetite. Symptoms may not appear immediately in someone who has been infected, but will come if the infection develops into active TB.

For more information about TB, visit the Indiana State Department of Health’s website section on tuberculosis.

Source: Fox 59