A Baltimore County resident affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health has been diagnosed with tuberculosis, the second case reported in the county this week.
County health officials announced the case Friday afternoon, two days after notifying families at Catonsville High School of a case of tuberculosis in their community.
The cases are not related, said Monique Lyle, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore County Department of Health.
In both cases, county health officials have tracked down and offered tuberculosis testing to people who were in close contact with those who fell ill.
Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that affect the lungs, causing a bad cough that lasts longer than two weeks, chest pain, coughing up blood or phlegm; other symptoms include weakness, fatigue, weight loss, chills, fever and night sweats, according to the county Health Department.
Tuberculosis is spread person-to-person through the air, but a person needs to be in close contact for "an extended amount of time" to become infected, according to health officials.
The prognosis for the Johns Hopkins patient is good, according to a letter sent Friday to students, faculty and staff.
"The person is recovering, and we are working closely with health authorities to prevent the spread of the disease," wrote Dr. Michael J. Klag, dean of the Bloomberg School. "Fortunately, the strain of TB appears to be sensitive to first-line medications and not drug-resistant."
Officials would not disclose what role the person has with the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Klag wrote that the risk to the community at large is "minimal." The school referred questions to the Baltimore County Department of Health.
In 2013, a total of 9,582 cases of tuberculosis were reported in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tuberculosis cases have declined since the disease's most recent peak in 1992, according to the CDC.
Maryland had 178 cases of tuberculosis in 2013, with 24 of those cases in Baltimore County, according to state health data.
Anyone who has been contacted about the Bloomberg School case and has questions about testing may call the Baltimore City Health Department at 410-396-9413.
General questions about tuberculosis can be directed to the Baltimore County Department of Health at 410-887-2711.
Baltimore Sun Media Group reporter Mary K. Tilghman contributed to this article.
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