Fifteen children and one adult have tested positive for tuberculosis bacteria at the Charlotte Central School, but those positive tests do not create a public health risk, according to Health Department officials.
A positive test for TB bacteria does not mean a person is sick with the disease. Only 5 percent to 10 percent of people infected with TB bacteria develop the disease at any point in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The adult carrying TB at the school does have the disease and has not returned to the school since its discovery, according to health officials.
The Health Department has tested 380 students and school employees. The department has a clinic set up at the school and continued to test school employees Monday. The results from those test will be available Wednesday.
A small number of students and staff who have not been tested will attend clinics in the coming days.
For more information about TB visit healthvermont.gov.
