New Tuberculosis Exposures Reported at Southwest High School
The County’s Tuberculosis Program, in collaboration with Sweetwater Union School District (SUHSD), is notifying students and staff who were potentially exposed to tuberculosis (TB) at Southwest High School from Sept. 23, 2025, to Oct. 23, 2025.
The new exposures are not directly associated with previously reported exposures at Southwest High School in July 2025. During that earlier investigation, one person was diagnosed with probable TB and another with proven TB. A third person with proven TB has now been confirmed but is unrelated to the earlier cases.
Public health officials emphasize that this is not an outbreak investigation. Different TB strains were identified, and the latest situation requires its own screening process separate from the earlier exposures.
The two newly identified persons with TB were identified through investigations by the County and the school during the summer and fall of 2025. The thoroughness of that investigation likely contributed to the earlier detection of active TB, potentially helping prevent more severe illness in those diagnosed and shortening the exposure window.
Individuals at highest risk have already been notified by the County and the school district.
Free TB screening will be offered on-site at Southwest High School to students and staff identified as having an increased risk of infection. For anyone who tests positive for TB, the County will provide x-ray services at the school.
Students and staff who were exposed in spring 2025 will also have the opportunity to test and complete x-rays if needed. County TB Prevention and Care staff will also provide on-site TB education to affected students and staff.
TB is an airborne disease spread when a person with active TB coughs, speaks, sings or breathes. People with prolonged indoor exposure to someone with active TB should be tested Brief interactions carry lower risk.
“Symptoms of active TB include persistent cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss,” said Sayone Thihalolipavan, M.D., MPH, County Public Health Officer. “Many people infected with TB do not get sick right away. This is called latent TB infection. Some will become ill later if it is not treated. Blood tests and skin tests are effective ways to detect infection.”
Effective treatments are available to cure both active and latent (dormant) TB.
People who test positive for TB, but do not have active symptoms should get a chest x-ray and talk to a medical provider, as they most likely have a latent TB infection. Treatment can prevent development of active disease.
It is especially important for individuals with symptoms of active TB or those who are immunocompromised to seek medical care promptly to rule out active TB and discuss preventive treatment.
TB cases in San Diego County have declined from the early 1990s through the 2010s, but have risen since reaching a low during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, there were 193 TB cases, 201 in 2021, 208 in 2022, and 242 in 2023. In 2024, a total of 247 people were reported with active TB disease in San Diego County. An estimated 175,000 people in San Diego County have latent TB infection and are at risk for developing active TB without preventive treatment.
For more information about this potential exposure, call the County TB Control Program at 619-692-8621.