- A confirmed case of active tuberculosis has been traced to Lloyd Memorial High School, but the NKY Health Department does not believe the public is in danger at this time.
- Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that affects the lungs, kidneys and spine.
- People with questions should contact the health department at (859)363-2120.
The Northern Kentucky Health Department has traced an active case of tuberculosis, often shortened to TB, to Lloyd Memorial High School in Erlanger.
The department is taking measures to contact trace people who have come into contact with the patient and has emphasized that there doesn’t seem to be any danger to the parents or the public at this time.
“No one is reporting any signs or symptoms in the school,” said Matt Adams, the TB coordinator and nurse with the Northern Kentucky Health Department, adding that there’s “no reason for parents to panic at this time.”
The patient’s identity could not be revealed due to federal privacy laws.
“We’ve been working with the individual in isolation,” said Health Department Public Information Officer Skip Tate. “They are improving at this point.”
TB is a communicable, bacterial infection spread through the air. It can affect the lungs, kidneys, brain and spine. It has a comparatively high mortality rate if left untreated, but fortunately, treatments exist for both active and latent forms of the disease. It is a reportable disease, meaning that if you go to the doctor and are found to have it, the doctor is required by law to report it to health officials.
Adams said the investigation of the case is following typical protocols. People who spend a lot of time with the person (i.e. family and close friends) are contacted first, and then the department expands its search as needed.
Lloyd is no longer in session, which is good news, Tate said, since that means there’s no centralized way for the bacteria to spread. It presents a challenge, though, he said, because contact tracing now requires the department to locate people as they’re out and about for the summer break.
The district sent out a letter to parents informing them about the case on Tuesday. LINK nky has reached out to the district for comment and will update this story once we hear back.
The department is planning on holding testing for people who’ve come into contact with the patient on Saturday, June 13; Monday, June 15 and Tuesday, June 16 at the department’s Boone County Health Center in Florence. The testing is not open to the public; it’s only for people who have been traced to have had contact with the initial case. Tate did not have an exact number of people identified by the department to have come into contact with the patient, but put it somewhere between 50 and 75, as of Thursday morning.
There are two types of TB: latent and active. Active is symptomatic and contagious. Latent TB is not contagious and not symptomatic; however, people with latent TB may develop the disease in the future and are still recommended to undergo treatment. Many people who are exposed to the TB bacterium do not develop the active version of the disease; even if they test positive for it, “that doesn’t mean the people who are positive are infectious,” Adams said.
Active symptoms include a cough that lasts more than three weeks, coughing up blood and mucus, weight loss, fever, fatigue and night sweats. The weight loss induced by TB led people in the past to refer to the disease as ‘consumption.’
There were 93 confirmed cases of TB in Kentucky in 2024, the most recent year for which data is available, according to the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services. Two cases were confirmed in Boone County, four were confirmed in Campbell County and three were confirmed in Kenton County.
Check out the health department’s fact sheet below to learn more about the disease. Parents and people with questions should contact the health department’s TB hotline at (859)363-2120.
This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more.
