Suspected Case of Tuberculosis at George Washington University

The District's Department of Health is investigating a suspected case of tuberculosis at George Washington University.

Some of the school's students, faculty, and staff are being advised to take certain precautions.

The university's Student Health Service and DOH are sending out email advisories to those who may have been in close contact with the suspected case, giving them specific instructions on how to get a TB skin test.

TB Expert Daniel Abdun-Nabi said the tuberculosis infection can be treated but can turn into TB disease if the infected person's immune system is weakened.

"TB is contagious. It does affect 2 billion people on the planet so that’s a third of the planet that’s effected with TB but only about 10 percent of those individuals will ultimately come down with an active form of the disease," he said.

The advisory sent out by George Washington health officials said that there was no need for the larger George Washington community to take any specific medical precautions or actions at this time.

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