The S.C. Department of Public Health says a newly identified tuberculosis case linked to a spring 2025 exposure at Hartsville High School shows transmission is ongoing.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Public Health is strongly encouraging all employees and students at Hartsville High School to be tested for tuberculosis after identifying one additional TB case connected to the school.
According to DPH, the newly identified case had ties to the school during the 2024-2025 school term and likely became infected during that time. The agency said the TB germ can remain inactive in the body for months or years before causing illness, which explains why the case is surfacing now.
DPH said the case raises concern that others may have been unknowingly infected during the 2024-2025 school term. Because of the ongoing transmission, the agency is again working with Hartsville High and district officials to offer testing to everyone at the school, after previously offering testing during the 2024-2025 term.
“We urge the school community to get tested,” said Dr. Martha Buchanan, director of DPH’s Bureau of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control. “Testing is the only way to know if the TB germ entered the body and infected a person. If the test result is positive, additional testing is needed to determine if a person has active TB disease, which can be very contagious and puts others at risk.”
During the 2024-2025 term, DPH worked with school officials to identify people who may have been exposed and offered them testing and follow-up under public health guidelines. Testing was later expanded to all students, faculty and staff, though not everyone participated, according to DPH. The agency said some people may have been tested elsewhere with a TB skin test, which is not reportable to DPH, meaning an unknown number of people remain untested.
DPH said testing details have been shared with all faculty and staff at Hartsville High, and the agency has coordinated with the school and district on testing logistics and communication. Testing offered through DPH will be provided at no cost and returns results quickly, the agency said.
DPH said TB is a bacterial disease that spreads through the air and primarily affects the lungs. People with latent, or inactive, TB have about a 10% lifetime risk of developing active disease, according to the agency, with the highest risk occurring within the first two years of infection. Symptoms can include cough, chest pain, fever, chills, night sweats, appetite and weight loss, and fatigue. DPH advised anyone with these symptoms to contact a doctor or local public health department and ask to speak with a TB nurse.
Based on a release from S.C. Dept. of Public Health.
