A tuberculosis scare on Long Island led to more than 100 students and staff at a high school to get tested following an exposure.
The students and staff at Sachem High School East in Coram learned on Wednesday whether they would need treatment for tuberculosis after they were exposed to a classmate who tested positive last week.
Because the infectious disease can be present in the body without showing symptoms, school officials sent a letter on Thursday to 116 students and seven staff members, alerting them to the possible exposure and offering free testing.
Watch NBC 4 free wherever you are
WATCH HERE"I know a couple of my friends who have classes with them they got letters. So I’m like 'Stay away a little bit,'" said student Kaylee Dean.
Officials from the Suffolk County Health Department were at the school Monday to offer free testing to those students who may have been exposed. The district superintendent said in a letter to students and families that, as of Wednesday, there hadn't been any more cases confirmed.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox with NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP "The district was informed that there have been no new confirmed cases," said Superintendent Patti Trombetta. "Please be assured that we will remain in contact with the SCDOH and will share any further updates necessary."
There is no tuberculosis vaccine in the U.S. Prevention is not entirely possible, but doctors stress the disease is treatable. And doctors added that any student that did not receive a letter about possible exposure do not need to worry.
Long Island news
From North Shore to North Fork to Long Island Sound and the barrier islands, NBC New York covers Long Island news, weather, traffic and more.
"If you haven’t gotten a letter, you were clearly not in contact with the individual and you have no worries," said Dr. Sharon Nachman, the director of infectious diseases at Stony Brook Children's Hospital. "If caught early, we treat it and we prevent tuberculosis infection from going to tuberculosis disease. And that means everyone else will do fine."
While parents and students have been assured there is no outbreak or further cause for concern, some wish there had been a school-wide alert sent out.
"I was just upset that they didn’t let all the parents know. Just because you’re not in a classroom with a child doesn’t mean it can’t be spread other ways," said Michael Dean, Kaylee's father.
According to the New York State Department of Health, there were 250 confirmed cases of tuberculosis in 2024. That was a 19% increase from 2023. Of those 250 cases, 100 were on Long Island: 52 in Suffolk County, 48 in Nassau County.
The school district said they will wait for a two-month incubation period to pass, and they will offer testing to the same students. It is set to occur sometime in July.
