Results of tuberculosis contact investigation in a high school

Lee Ae-Jung, Kim Eun-Young, Park shin-young, Park Young-joon
Division of TB Epidemic Investigation, Center for Disease Prevention, KCDC

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis). TB is spread from one person to another through the air. The degree of transmission of TB is known to be dependent upon frequency, distance, and duration of contact with TB patients. A high school was reported as tuberculosis in January 2018, and contact investigations for the total of 866 personnel including teacher, staff and students had been conducted according to the National Tuberculosis Control Programme. As a result, additional 4 cases were classified as TB patients, and 36 cases were diagnosed as latent TB infection (LTBI) The additional TB patients are the same classmates of the index case. Under a household contact survey, two family members in the index case were identified as LTBI positive, one of them that was confirmed as tuberculosis. According to the analysis of the genetic type of tuberculosis, additional patients had the identical genotype as the index case.

Keywords: tuberculosis, latent tuberculosis, high school, student, investigation