NJ high school student tests positive for tuberculosis

A high school student in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, has tested positive for tuberculosis, according to a letter from the principal to the school community. “At this time, the student is being treated and is doing well,” Colonia High School Principal Christopher Chiera wrote in a letter dated March 14. School officials are working with the Middlesex County Office of Health Services to identify students and staff who may have been exposed to the student, according to the letter. It said anyone identified as a “close contact” will be screened for the disease. Tuberculosis, a bacterial illness, can be fatal if not properly treated. There was no immediate comment from the county health services office. The positive case comes as the number of reported tuberculosis cases in New Jersey and across the United States has been on the rise since 2020. In 2023, the year for which most recent data is available, most states reported an increase in tuberculosis cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of tuberculosis cases in New Jersey jumped from 289 in 2022 to 343 in 2023, an 18.7% increase, according to the CDC. New Jersey also has a higher rate of tuberculosis cases than the national average, at 3.7 cases per 100,000 people in 2023. For the same period, New York City had an incidence rate of 8.3 cases per 100,000 persons, according to the CDC data. The remainder of New York state had an incidence rate of 1.9 cases per 100,000 persons. Tuberculosis mainly affects the lungs but can also damage the kidneys, liver, heart, bones, joints, and blood vessels. It’s spread through the air when infected people cough, sneeze or spit.