A STUDENT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH THE ILLNESS IN APRIL!Hundreds of students at a Houston area high school will be tested for a deadly disease on Monday morning.
Officials from the Harris County Public Health Department are expected to test 300 Galena Park High School students for tuberculosis.
An unidentified student at the school was diagnosed with the airborne illness in April, and now officials are offering the voluntary testing to anyone who came in contact with the teenager.
Galena Park is the third Houston area school to be tested in 2008.
In January, 19 people at North Shore were exposed to TB. In April, office workers at North Forest were tested.
Health experts say only ten percent of people infected with tuberculosis will ever develop symptoms or get sick.
"You can be infected and not show symptoms for decades, or you may not become infected at all," said Dr. Eric Brown of the University of Texas. "One third of the world's population is infected."
Doctors say the key to winning a battle with tuberculosis is early detection, and note that just because you are close to someone with the disease does not mean you are going to get it.
"It's not surprising, in fact, I'm surprised there isn't more of it in the U.S.," said Dr. Brown. "It's deadly."
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