Hillsborough health officials say they have confirmed a case of tuberculosis on the main University of South Florida campus.
They say a student on the Tampa campus is now undergoing drug therapy and is recovering in isolation.
“The student never lived in residential halls. The student was currently enrolled in spring and summer semester,” said Dr. Joseph Puccio, USF Student Health Services. “It is very unlikely there is any danger to any of the students on campus.”
The county's Tuberculosis Center has notified 90 students, faculty, staff and community members who were at risk for exposure and will test them next week for the disease.
"USF and the Department of Health are working together to ensure the health and safety of all students, employees, and members of the student's community," said Tuberculosis Center Manager Jylmarie Lewis.
This is the first case of TB on the campus in 2013. The last case of TB at the University was in May of 2012.
Tuberculosis is a disease that usually infects the lungs, but it can affect other parts of the body. It is spread when an infected person coughs, talks, sings, or sneezes germs into the air.
Persons who breathe in the germs can become infected. However, only those who have had very close, day-to-day contact with the infected person run the risk of contracting the disease. TB is less contagious than measles, mumps, chicken pox, and influenza.
Even if a person becomes infected, the disease may remain dormant and not contagious to others.
For more information about TB, visit www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/general/tb.htm.
Students and employees of USF with additional questions may call the Student Health Services nurse line at (813) 974-1797, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m.