KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - Today, Public Health - Seattle & King County and Seattle Public Schools announced a new tuberculosis case at a Seattle school. Currently, King County is experiencing a 30-year high in TB cases, with 158 cases last year and 40 cases so far in 2003. Most of the recent TB cases are among the homeless population and foreign-born adults.

"Nationally, there has been a steady decline in TB, but locally we have seen a consistent increase in the last decade," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health -Seattle & King County. "TB is curable and preventable, and Public Health has worked closely with various partners to effectively manage and treat the current cases."

The new TB case involves a person at Madison Middle School, and it is the second case at this school this year. Two cases have been reported recently among members of the West Seattle High School community. Tests show that the TB strains at the two schools are not linked.

"With the new case at a Seattle school we are following all of our regular control measures. Like with the previous school cases, we are working thoroughly to screen any new school members who may have been exposed," said Dr. Masa Narita, TB Control Officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County. "Local schools are not disproportionately affected by TB; this is a regional and international problem."

"Though initially this was cause for concern, our two school members are receiving treatment and are on the road to recovery," said Madison Middle School Principal Jill Hudson. "We have notified our school community, and we have worked closely with the local public health department to protect the health of our students and staff."

Globally, one third of the world's population has TB infection, and two million people a year die of the disease. "TB is a global problem, and King County is a community of people from all over the world. Until we begin to see a decline of TB on a world-wide level, we'll continue to see it locally," said Narita.

TB is not very infectious, and it is much harder to catch than the common cold. Usually a lot of time needs to be spent with a person with pulmonary TB for someone to catch TB. It is not possible to get TB from sharing a glass with a person with TB or touching a doorknob after someone with TB has used it. TB is almost always curable with antibiotics that are commonly available.

For information on Public Health's TB Control Program, visit: www.metrokc.gov/health/tb