LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A local elementary school is working to test students and faculty who may have been exposed to tuberculosis this week.
In a letter to families on Tuesday, the principal of Helen Jydstrup Elementary confirmed a person at the school was diagnosed with tuberculosis.
School administrators are working with the Southern Nevada Health District to develop a plan to test those who had close contact with the infected person, Principal Christina M. Miani stated.
For those people, "a tuberculin test is mandatory and required by law" and testing is expected to being on Thursday, Miani informed parents.
"Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease that can be transmitted between persons who are in close, repeated contact by breathing the same air over a period of time," Miani stated. "Tuberculosis is not transmitted through touching or handling objects."
Those subject to testing for the disease are those who "came in close, personal contact with this person over a period of time," according to Miana's letter. SNHD would notify those people that they need to be tested, she added.
