POSSIBLE TUBERCULOSIS EXPOSURE IN SAUK COUNTY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                             January 10, 2020

Contact:            Tim Lawther, Health Officer
                         (608) 355-4301   

POSSIBLE TUBERCULOSIS EXPOSURE IN SAUK COUNTY

Sauk County, WI - The Sauk County Health Department was recently informed of a possible case of tuberculosis (TB) in a Sauk County resident with ties to the Baraboo and Sauk Prairie school districts.

The presence of TB has not been confirmed, but the individual has voluntarily agreed to stay in isolation and is undergoing appropriate treatment for tuberculosis. The Sauk County Health Department is working collaboratively with the Wisconsin Division of Public Health, Baraboo School District, and Sauk Prairie School District to assure that anyone who has been in close contact with the ill person is being contacted and offered testing if necessary.

“The risk to the general population is very low. TB disease is not easy to transmit to others; it requires prolonged and close contact with an infected person. Simply being in the same room does not mean you will be infected,” said Tim Lawther, Director and Health Officer of the Sauk County Health Department. “In this instance, tuberculosis has not been clinically confirmed, so we are acting out of an abundance of caution.”

People at highest risk of becoming infected are those who live with, or who have spent a prolonged amount of time around, a person who is symptomatic. Symptoms of TB include: cough lasting more than 2 weeks, coughing up blood, fatigue, weakness, unintended weight loss, fever, and/or night sweats. 

Every year, there are 40-50 people diagnosed with TB in Wisconsin. TB is a potentially serious bacterial disease that attacks the lungs and is spread through the air from one person to another. It cannot be spread through food, drink, clothing, or through skin-to-skin contact, such as shaking hands or hugging. Nor can it be spread via surfaces.  TB is a slow-growing bacteria that is treatable with the proper regimen of medicine. People at high risk of developing the disease may also receive medicine.

The Sauk County Health Department is working to identify and contact those who were potentially exposed for testing.  If you are at risk and need to be tested, the Sauk County Health Department will contact you.

For more information on TB, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/tb/. If you have questions, please call the Sauk County Health Department at (608) 355-3290.

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