CHENANGO COUNTY – Following a reported outbreak of more than 25 students from a rural Kansas high school tested positive for Tuberculosis (TB), the Chenango County Health Department issued a statement recently in an effort to educate county residents of the dangers of the contagious disease.

TB is spread through the air when a person infected with TB coughs, speaks, laughs, sneezes or sings causing others close by to breathe the TB germ into their lungs.

While lungs are the most common site of infection, TB can also infect other organs like the brain, spine or the kidneys.

When TB germs live in the body without causing illness, it is classified as a “latent TB infection.” Those with Latent TB have only a small amount of TB bacteria in their body that are alive – but dormant. Those patients often test positive for the familiar “Mantoux” skin test or blood culture, but chest x-rays reveal no indications.