HENRICO COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

8600 DIXON POWERS DRIVE

P. O. BOX 90775
HENRICO, VIRGINIA 23273-0775

In cooperation with the

State Department of Health

April 24, 2017

Dear Freeman Community:

The Henrico Health Department recently received confirmation of an active case of

tuberculosis (TB) disease affiliated with Freeman High School. There is no known risk
of ongoing TB transmission in Freeman High School at this time. The Henrico Health
Department is coordinating evaluation for faculty, staff, and students who may have been
exposed to the active case of TB. Those who may have been exposed will be offered
evaluation and testing for TB and will be notified of testing times and dates in a
separate letter.

There will be informational meetings about TB and the risk of TB transmission on

Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 6 PM in the gymnasium at Freeman High School and on
Thursday, April 27, 2017 during student lunch hours. The April 26th meeting is for the
general Freeman community and the April 27th meeting is for Freeman students, faculty,
and staff only. During the informational meetings Henrico Health Department staff will
give an overview of TB and the evaluation process and will be available to answer
questions.

TB is an airborne communicable disease caused by bacteria that is released into the air
when a person with active TB disease coughs, sneezes, or sings. The symptoms of TB
usually include a chronic cough, weight loss, night sweats, fever, decreased appetite and
fatigue. TB is not easy to catch. Persons can become infected with TB if they spend a
lot of time with a person who has active TB disease. TB infection alone does not make
people sick or contagious, and persons with TB infection do not necessarily have TB
disease. Having TB infection means that TB disease could develop in the future. Both
TB disease and TB infection can be treated with medication.

Again, those who may have been exposed will be offered evaluation and testing for TB
and will be notified of testing times and dates in a separate letter. If you have any
questions about TB or the plan for testing, please contact Rachel Pryor, RN or Eliana
Dwyer, RN at the Henrico Health Department at (804) 501-4519 or (804) 501-4643,
respectively.

Sincerely,

Rachel Pryor, RN, MPH Susan Fischer Davis, MD

TB Public Health Nurse, Sr. Health Director