San Benito High School TB tests come back negative

SAN BENITO, Texas ( ValleyCentral ) — Cameron County Health Administrator Esmeralda Guajardo announced all Tuberculosis tests performed on San Benito High School students came back negative.

On March 27, the Cameron County Public Health Department notified San Benito CISD that an individual at San Benito High School had tested positive for Tuberculosis, according to Guajardo.

She expected the tests would come back negative due to the overall health and youth of the students.

Guajardo added a second round of tests will be administered in June out of precaution. However, students will be tested by their personal doctors since school will not be in session.

What is Tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis, or TB, is caused by a bacteria that typically attacks the lungs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated. However, TB bacteria is also able to attack other areas of the body, such as the kidneys, spine and brain.

Some of the symptoms of tuberculosis include a bad cough that lasts longer than three weeks, pain in the chest, and coughing up blood. Stench of ‘decomposed flesh’, docs reveal details of 90+ animal hoarding case

ValleyCentral spoke with Esmeralda Guajardo, the health administrator for Cameron County Public Health to get more information. Guajardo said TB can be similar to COVID-19, in terms of the symptoms, but is not as infectious.

“What is not similar, is that in order for someone to be infected by it, you have to spend a lot of time with that person,” Guajardo said.

According to the CDC, not everyone who becomes infected will become sick. However, if not treated properly, tuberculosis could be fatal

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