Ventura County Public Health has identified an individual at Rio Vista Middle School in Oxnard, who had contagious tuberculosis. In conjunction with school officials and staff, the Department is in the process of evaluating exposed students, staff and faculty. The most common way to become infected with TB germs is by spending a lot of time with a person who has active TB in enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.
There is a difference between TB infection and TB disease. People with TB disease are sick from the germs that are active in their body and they may cough a lot, feel weak, have a fever, lose weight, cough up blood, or sweat a lot at night. People with TB disease are capable of giving the infection to others. People with TB infection (without disease) have the TB germ in their body, but they are not sick because the germ is inactive. They cannot spread the germ to others. About one out of ten people with TB infection become sick with TB disease at some time in their life. TB can be treated and cured.
Callers can leave their name, number and question at (805) 385-9444 and a Department representative will contact them.