Officials confirm tuberculosis case linked to Elmhurst University – NBC Chicago

A case of tuberculosis was confirmed in a person connected to Elmhurst University this week, as health officials investigate two other suspected cases linked to the school, according to the DuPage County Health Department.

DuPage County health officials said they are coordinating with local health care providers to make sure those affected are treated while they work to notify people who may have been exposed.

Officials said work to expand testing for potentially exposed students at the university is underway.

Tuberculosis, or TB, spreads from person to person through the air and is breathed in when a person with an active infection coughs, talks, or sings. Not everyone infected with TB gets sick.

Therefore, there are two conditions related to TB: inactive TB infection, or latent TB, and active TB disease, according to DuPage County health officials. Both infections can be treated.

Anyone who has been around someone with an active TB infection is encouraged to contact their healthcare provider to arrange testing, even if they are not feeling sick.

More information about TB can be found here Here.