Northville High School Tuberculosis Tests to Be Read Today

About 50 students per hour have been tested for tuberculosis during school this week after one student was .

The first results will be read today, said school board president Dottie Garrity. Results can only be read after 48-72 hours. The Wayne County Health Department has been testing students since Monday, she said.

Any student who was in a class, team or other activity with the infected student was tested. It was limited to those groups in accordance with "contact parameters" set by the department of health, she said.

"A positive skin test can be the result of tuberculosis exposure, previous BCG vaccination or exposure to another type of tuberculosis which is not spread from person to person," according to a district email sent Wednesday afternoon. "As much as 5 percent of the U.S. population has latent tuberculosis, which would result in a positive skin test. Latent infection is not contagious."

The skin tests will need to be repeated in June for students who tested negative. The department of health will conduct tests on June 4 and 5. Those results will be read on June 6 and 7, according to the email.

If parents are worried about the disease or have further questions, they are urged to contact their physicians.

Garrity commended the department of health for its promptness in testing.

"We're in a good position now to make sure everyone is safe," she said.