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University official: 2015 TB case at Tech an isolated one

HOUGHTON – There was a confirmed case of tuberculosis at Michigan Technological University in the fall of 2015, but Bonnie Gorman, Michigan Tech dean of students, said it was an isolated case, and there have been no confirmed cases since.

Gorman said on Sept. 11, 2015, the university received a letter from the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department about a former Tech student who was confirmed to have TB, and who was living in Ohio at the time.

“The Health Department asked us to educate students who were in his closest circle,” she said. “The Health Department basically took it from there.”

On Sept. 16, Gorman said the health department notified the university more people were identified as possibly coming in contact with the sick individual.

“Ultimately, they tested 17,” she said.

Gorman said a notice of the confirmation of TB was sent to all Tech faculty, staff and students.

“No one was at risk in the end,” she said.

On Sept. 25, 2015, the Daily Mining Gazette printed a letter from Terry Frankovich, WUPHD medical director, about the confirmed TB case.

In an interview Tuesday, Frankovich said she went to the Tech campus to talk about the confirmed case of TB and to inform people there about the disease.

“It would be really hard for anybody not to know about,” she said of the confirmed case.

Frankovich said TB is caused by bacteria, which can cause TB infection, which is not contagious, and TB disease.

“The majority of people who get infected don’t get the disease,” she said.

Frankovich said an infected person can live for years before the infection becomes disease. People who have immune systems weakened by chronic illnesses, such as HIV, are more susceptible to developing the TB.

The TB bacteria is passed from person to person through the air, usually from sneezing or breathing, Frankovich said. However, it isn’t just the respiratory system that can be affected by the bacteria.

“It can affect many parts of the body,” she said.

Since the creation of antibiotics, Frankovich said TB infection rates have dropped.

Who develops TB depends to large extent on where they live, Frankovich said. Routine testing for TB is done based on the prevalence of the illness in a particular community.

“Our area is considered a low-risk area for TB,” she said.

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