Four Cobb County high school students learned today that they do not have active tuberculosis. They came into contact with a teacher suspected of having the disease. Health officials say this and other recent, highly-publicized cases in metro Atlanta are serving to raise awareness of TB.
In Georgia, roughly 500 new cases of active TB are reported every year, and half of those are in the 5-country metro Atlanta area. State TB Program Director Beverly DeVoe Payton says that's tiny compared to total population, but the recent media coverage is important because the disease is still a public health concern. She say, "Because the symptoms are so similar to other respiratory conditions - pneumonia, bronchitis, the flu - people really may not even
be aware that they had been exposed to someone with TB, and they still would not know unless they had a specific tubercular skin test.
DeVoe-Payton says TB in Georgia has decreased by 44% since the early '90s, and that over time, it has concentrated in certain subpopulations. Those are mainly the homeless, intravenous drug users, and those in correctional facilities.
