150 Students At YISD Possibly Exposed To Tuberculosis

150 students in the Ysleta Independent School District could have been exposed to tuberculosis. The City of El Paso Department of Public Health will be notifying parents of their investigation by mail. Parents will be told that the Department recommends that their students be screened for TB through a blood draw that will be tested at the Department of Public Health laboratory in El Paso. Parents who get the letter will be told that their children may have had close contact with someone with active TB.

Robert Resendes, Public Health Director says that Ysleta ISD officials have cooperated with the department and they are working to make sure the specific students who have been identified as at-risk are tested. Resendes also said that he wants parents who get the letter from the Department of Public Health, participate in the screening process so they can determine if the child has been infected. That is vital because after the determination has been made that someone has been infected with TB, they need to get evaluation and treatment.

If you get a letter from the Department of Public Health and have additional questions, call the Department of Public Health at (915) 212-6609.

Tuberculosis is a bacterial illness acquired through breathing in infected droplets from the cough or sneeze of a person with active TB. Tuberculosis is not easily transmitted. The likelihood of transmission increases with length of exposure to the cough/sneeze of someone with active TB. Additional information about TB can be found at EPHealth.com by clicking TB Control under “Programs”.