The leading infectious disease killer in the world is on the rise in Georgia.
About 300 students in Cobb County who may have been exposed to tuberculosis (TB) underwent skin tests for the disease on Tuesday.
Those tests will be examined Thursday by public health officials.
Everyone with a positive reaction will then have chest X-ray exams to rule out active disease, said Valerie Crow with Cobb & Douglas Public Health. At that point, if the test X-ray is negative, they will be offered preventative medication. If the X-ray is positive, they will be treated for the disease.
Germs spread from person to person through the air, causing TB. While the disease mostly affects the lungs, TB can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, the kidneys or the spine. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.
The Global Tuberculosis Report 2024 shows 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB in 2023, a figure that represents the highest number of TB cases recorded by the WHO since it began global TB monitoring in 1995.
It also marks a significant increase from the 7.5 million new TB cases reported in 2022.
In Georgia, a total of 262 TB cases were reported in 2022, representing a 18% increase from 222 cases in 2021.
The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is the only effective TB vaccine in common use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's given by injection in the upper arm and can take up to three months to provide protection against severe forms of TB in children, such as TB meningitis.
Many people born outside the United States have been vaccinated with BCG, but it's not generally recommended in the United States.
It is given to infants and small children in countries where TB is common. It protects children from getting severe forms of active TB disease, such as TB meningitis. The vaccine's protection weakens over time.
