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COBB COUNTY, Ga. – Hundreds of students and staff at Walton High School in Cobb County await test results they were probably exposed to tuberculosis.

Cobb and Douglas County public health officials say 300 people may have been exposed at the school on Bill Murdoch Road.

Officials tested students and faculty at the school on Tuesday. These tests will be examined and measured at school on Thursday.

If the test is positive, the student or staff member will need to get a chest X-ray to make sure they do not have an active illness, Valerie S. Crow of Cobb & Douglas Public Health told FOX 5. If negative, preventive medication will be offered.

A positive test will require additional treatment.

Students and faculty who were told to take the test and were unable to take the test at school on Tuesday will have to be tested by their doctor and show proof of completion of the test before returning to school.

Officials did not share details about how students and staff may have been exposed, citing HIPAA.

Tuberculosis is caused by airborne bacteria that mostly affects the lungs. Roughly a quarter of the global population is estimated to have tuberculosis, but only 5-10% of them develop symptoms.

Approximately 1.25 million people died of tuberculosis last year. New report from the World Health Survey he said, adding that tuberculosis is likely back to being the world’s biggest killer of infectious diseases after being replaced by Covid-19 during the pandemic. Deaths are almost double the number of people killed by HIV in 2023.

According to a report by the Georgia Department of Public Health, the state reported 262 new tuberculosis cases in 2022; This means an increase of 18% compared to the previous year. DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties accounted for 46.2% of all cases.