Tuberculosis testing underway at Liberty High School
Clark County School District and Southern Nevada Health District officials hope to wrap up a first round of tuberculosis testing at Liberty High School on Tuesday.
Medical personnel began giving TB tests to up to 400 students and adults Monday and hope to have results back next week.
One contagious case of the pulmonary disease was identified at the Henderson high school March 28. Staff, students and parents were notified the same day.
“We’ve already started treatment on the one active case and at this point it doesn’t look like we’ll find anymore,” Health District Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Iser said Tuesday.
The Health District last month confirmed more than a dozen latent, or non-contagious, TB infections at Henderson’s Coronado High School.
Iser couldn’t say whether Liberty students might have been exposed to a more virulent, treatment-resistant disease strain.
School District spokeswoman Melinda Malone couldn’t comment on the identity of the one active case identified at Liberty, but said school officials were able to help the health district identify those who may have come into close personal contact with the individual.
Liberty students needed parental permission to receive blood tests administered by officials early this week.
Malone wasn’t aware of any students who had been denied a test on account of parental objections.
Contact James DeHaven at jdehaven@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3839. Find him on Twitter @JamesDeHaven.
