Contact tracing underway after contagious form of tuberculosis found by UC Davis officials
A person in the UC Davis campus’ community has been diagnosed with a contagious form of tuberculosis, the university said Thursday.
UC Davis officials declined to say if the infected individual is a student, faculty member or employee. University officials and Yolo County Department of Public Health employees have begun contact tracing for others who had at least eight hours of “cumulative exposure” to the infected person.
These people will need to be evaluated for a possible TB infection, a UC Davis news release said.
“Outside of those the university is contacting directly, the exposure risk to the general community is low,” UC Davis said in a statement.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said TB is a respiratory virus that spreads through the air when a person speaks, coughs or sings. Those around an infected individual can breathe that air and can become infected themselves.
Symptoms include a cough that can last for three weeks or more, chest pain or coughing up blood, UC Davis said. It can also include weakness, fatigue, weight loss, chills, fever, night sweats or loss of appetite.
Many people have dormant TB infections that are not contagious and not everyone with the disease becomes symptomatic, UC Davis said. The illness, caused by bacteria, can be treated and cured.
The bacteria is not spread by shaking someone’s hand, sharing food and drinks, kissing or by touching bed linens, CDC said.
“People with TB disease are most likely to spread it to people they spend time with every day,” CDC said.
TB can infiltrate the lungs, where it can grow. From there, it can move to other parts of the body, such as the kidney, spine and brain, CDC said.
Residents should wash hands, wear a mask if experiencing symptoms and seek medical attention if feeling sick.
This story was originally published December 21, 2023 at 11:45 AM.
