TB Case Confirmed at Rainier Beach High School; 130 Advised for Evaluation
Public Health – Seattle & King County has confirmed a case of active tuberculosis associated with Rainier Beach High School in Seattle. Approximately 130 individuals connected to the school are being advised to undergo evaluation for TB. This recommendation is based on the duration of their exposure to the affected person in indoor environments.
Evaluation and Notification Process
The school will directly inform those requiring evaluation, which includes a medical risk assessment and a tuberculosis test. Public Health stated that all students, staff, and families are being notified this week, irrespective of their exposure level. Public Health is collaborating with Rainier Beach High School to ascertain the extent of potential exposures and is providing support for evaluations and information dissemination.
Understanding Tuberculosis Transmission and Treatment
Health officials emphasized that tuberculosis is not easily transmitted. It is an infectious disease caused by bacteria spread through the air, but Public Health noted it is significantly more challenging to spread than illnesses like COVID-19, the common cold, or the flu.
Transmission typically necessitates repeated and prolonged exposure within a confined indoor space. Even within households where one person has contagious TB, only about one in three close household members become infected.
The individual associated with the school who was diagnosed with active TB is currently receiving treatment and is no longer considered contagious. Most active TB cases are treatable with antibiotics, with treatment durations typically lasting six to nine months.
Active vs. Latent TB
Officials highlighted the distinction between active TB disease and latent TB infection. Individuals with latent, or dormant, TB infection cannot transmit the disease to others and do not experience illness. Public Health estimates around 100,000 people in King County have latent TB infection.
While not contagious, these individuals have the potential to develop active TB in the future and could then infect others.
Approximately five percent of those with latent TB infection develop active TB within two years, and an additional five percent develop active TB over the remainder of their lives. Should anyone associated with the school be identified with latent TB infection, Public Health will facilitate connections to treatment designed to eliminate the TB bacteria and prevent future active disease. Latent TB infection can typically be treated within three to four months.
TB commonly affects the lungs but can also impact lymph nodes, bones, joints, and other body parts. An individual with active TB in the lungs can spread the disease through coughing or sneezing.
King County Context
In King County, 110 new cases of TB disease were reported in 2024, averaging about two diagnoses per week. The Public Health TB Control Program aims to ensure individuals with active TB are diagnosed and cured, and that high-risk close contacts are screened to prevent further spread.
Official Statements
Bev Redmond, Chief of Staff for Seattle Public Schools (SPS), stated that the individual with active TB is receiving treatment and no longer poses a risk to the school. Redmond affirmed SPS is working with Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) to support students and staff, and PHSKC is conducting onsite TB testing for identified close contacts. Redmond reiterated SPS's commitment to supporting the Rainier Beach community and keeping them informed.