The Wicomico County Public School System and the Wicomico County Health Department are collaborating on preventive health testing measures at James M. Bennett High School (JMB) following a diagnosis of tuberculosis in a JMB student.
Wicomico County Superintendent of Schools Dr. John E. Fredericksen and Lori Brewster, MS, APRN/BC, LCADC, Wicomico County Health Officer, informed JMB parents and staff by letter Thursday, Jan. 31 that while the risk of infection from exposure to the infected student is small, testing for tuberculosis (TB) is recommended as a precaution. The testing will be provided free of charge at the school for any staff member or student who had extended contact with the student in the classroom.
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16 comments:
Test positive for TB is no small thing. That is why all employees at prison facilities must be tested each year. Should they close the school for a period of time until the danger passes?
It certainly took a long time for the Board of Education to release this information. I hope the classmates were notified immediately.
Factoid: A lot of the reported cases of TB are among immigrants. Something to think about when someone wants to make Maryland a sanctuary state.
actually..they should close schools forever! do u realize how much everyone would save? and society would get back on the right track! i'm 48. everything i was taught in school is wrong now! so they say! anything u need to know is on a smart phone!
SO, how are you supposed to know if you were in close contact if the school will not release the name of the child. We got a paper from JMB saying they will notify us IF THEY think our daughter was at risk. How about let the parents be the judge of that. The kid lost their right to privacy when they put my childs safety at risk.
This is off topic but when did the county approve funding for the new Bennett Middle? It bids this month.
Without knowing who the child is, how does a parent know if his/her child was in contact with the student? Test them all.
If the student rode a bus, how does the school system know who the student sat with on various days? Sometimes middle school students, and even elementary magnet students, were on that same bus. There's also the bus driver. If the student participated in sports, other schools may need to have their students checked. What about contact in the cafeteria and at assemblies where students don't sit just with students in their classes? Hallways and water fountains?
While casual contact may not lead to infection (hallways, cafeteria), repeated contact does increase the chances.
Anonymous said...
SO, how are you supposed to know if you were in close contact if the school will not release the name of the child. We got a paper from JMB saying they will notify us IF THEY think our daughter was at risk. How about let the parents be the judge of that. The kid lost their right to privacy when they put my childs safety at risk.
February 1, 2013 at 11:57 AM
What date did you get the paper from the school?
Could a JMB forward a copy of the email from the school yesterday afternoon?
Email was 5:30 yesterday afternoon and paper for permission to test kids went home yesterday.
The question is how long has the WCBOE known about this? My Guess is much longer than 5:30pm yesterday.
Does anyone have a copy of the email sent to parents? I think it would reassure all of us to read it.
Do all parents have email? What about the parents who do not carry smart phones or do not have computers in their homes? I know that some children to not deliver written messages to parents at times. Contact should be made with each and every responsible adult and each and every child should be tested. This reminds me of the time lapse in telling people about the contaminated injections they may or may not have received. If I had a child in that school he or she would be tested. It is a very small and easy test. No reason not to test.
Did the article say the testing isn't until February 11th?
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