Tuberculosis test results expected today for possibly exposed Cobb County students

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Hundreds of students and staff members at Cobb County's Walton High School are waiting for their test results after they were possibly exposed to tuberculosis.

Cobb and Douglas County public health officials say that 300 people at the school on Bill Murdoch Road may have been exposed to the disease.

Officials were at the school on Tuesday testing the students and faculty members. Those tests will be examined and measured at the school on Thursday.

If a test is positive, the student or staff member will need to have a chest X-ray to ensure that they do not have an active disease, Valerie S. Crow with Cobb & Douglas Public Health told FOX 5. If the X-ray is negative, they will be offered preventative medication.

A positive test would require additional treatment.

Any students and faculty who were told to take the test and did not get it at school on Tuesday will have to get tested by their doctor and show proof the test was completed before they can return to school.

Officials have not shared details about how the students and staff members may have been exposed, citing HIPAA.

Tuberculosis is caused by airborne bacteria that mostly affects the lungs. Roughly a quarter of the global population is estimated to have TB, but only about 5–10% of those develop symptoms.

About 1.25 million people died of TB last year, a new report from the World Health Investigation said, adding that TB likely returned to being the world’s top infectious disease killer after being replaced by COVID-19 during the pandemic. The deaths are almost double the number of people killed by HIV in 2023.

According to a report by the Georgia Department of Public Health, the state reported 262 new cases of tuberculosis in 2022 - an 18% increase from the year before. DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties accounted for 46.2% of all cases.