Five people at Economedes High School test positive for tuberculosis exposure

EDINBURG — Five Economedes High School students or staff members have tested positive for tuberculosis exposure.

About 200 students and staff were tested for TB exposure after a student exhibited the disease’s symptoms last week, said Hidalgo County Health Department director Eduardo Olivarez.

Although the tests for exposure were positive, chances the five people actually contracted the illness are “very slim,” Olivarez said.

“We really feel that all five … had a history of vaccinations for TB in the past,” he said.

If a person received a tuberculosis vaccination at any time in his life, that person will test positive for tuberculosis exposure, but that does not mean they are actually infected with the disease, Olivarez said.

Two of the five people already underwent chest X-rays that revealed no tuberculosis-related symptoms, Olivarez said.

The three others are scheduled for X-rays this week, but because they have no TB-related symptoms, it is likely they will be cleared as well, he said.

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Jared Taylor covers Edinburg, the Delta region and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.