A case of tuberculosis has been confirmed on the USF Tampa campus, according to an email sent to students Tuesday morning by Dean for Students Michael Freeman.
The email states the affected student is being treated in isolation by the Hillsborough County Health Department TB unit. Ninety students were reported to be at risk of exposure, and have been notified by the county health department to be tested.
“Given USF’s population of more than 40,000 and the number of TB cases reported annually in Hillsborough County, the occurrence is not out of the statistical norm … The last case of TB on campus was in May of 2012 and appears to be unrelated to the current incidence,” the email stated.
TB is an airborne disease that affects the lungs and can cause serious illness. According to the emailed statement, TB is spread when an infected person repeatedly coughs, talks, or sneezes untreated TB germs into the air and only persons who have had very close, day-to-day, contact with the infected person run the risk of contracting the disease.
If concerned, students may call the Student Health Services nurse line at 813-974-1797.
— Staff report
