SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCIV) — The South Carolina Department of Public Health is investigating a tuberculosis exposure at Summerville High School and is working with school officials to identify people who may have been exposed.
In a statement, the department said it cannot identify the person who tested positive for active tuberculosis because of federal and state privacy laws.
Health officials said they are working closely with the school to determine which students, staff or others may have been exposed to the tuberculosis germ and should be tested.
The agency directed the public to its website and the CDC’s website for additional information and answers to frequently asked questions about tuberculosis.
“We were notified that that individual’s contagious period was the later portion of the 25-26 school year,” says Amanda Sims, Director of Nursing and Health Services with DD2. “We worked closely with SCDPH to assist with that contact tracing process, as well as ensure that our community is notified, as well as provide an opportunity for testing for those individuals identified as close contacts.”
Sims says the district has no reason to believe anyone associated with the situation is under isolation or quarantine.
“We are not excluding anyone from our buildings at this time,” she says.
While tuberculosis is uncommon, that gap between infection and detection is not.
“It can take a month or two before anyone starts developing true symptoms,” says Dr. Matthew Hanley, an emergency medicine physician with HCA Healthcare. “And it is relatively rare to start developing symptoms. There is a difference between latent infection versus active infection. You’re only contagious during active infection.”
The district sent out letters advising families who may have been exposed that free testing will be available. A consent form must be completed by Aug. 11. DD2 and SCDPH recommend testing, but it is not required.
“The health department may contact parents, guardians, or staff member close contacts directly to attempt to obtain that consent,” says Sims.
Tuberculosis is airborne, and it typically takes one to three hours of exposure to become infected, with very young children and the elderly most at risk.
“Most schools are gonna be relatively well ventilated,” says Dr. Hanley. “If you’re in class with somebody, the classes only last so long, so your exposure can only be so long.”
DD2 officials say they’ve already taken extra steps to keep students safe.
“That cleaning process, those extra precautions from our custodial services department have already taken place,” adds Sims. “We’re doing everything we can to keep students and staff healthy as we enter the new school year.”
The district urges parents with concerns to monitor communications from the school system and the Department of Health and to consult their healthcare provider with individual concerns.
In the last five years in South Carolina, the state has had an average of 87 tuberculosis disease cases, according to the Department of Public Health.
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What is Tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that most often affects the lungs and spreads through the air when a person with active TB disease coughs, speaks or sings. It has been around for at least 5,400 years.
Tuberculosis was previously called consumption, and in the early 1800s it is believed to have caused about one-third of all deaths globally, according to the Department of Public Health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who are identified as close contacts of someone with active TB may be advised to undergo testing. The Department of Public Health said tuberculosis can be treated with antibiotics.
Tuberculosis remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases. It is extremely prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, where healthcare isn’t as readily funded. In the United States, Tuberculosis is relatively rare. However, in close settings like jails, schools, detention centers and prisons, spread remains high-risk.
People with latent TB infection carry the bacteria that cause tuberculosis but do not have symptoms and cannot spread the infection to others. However, they may develop active TB disease later and are often treated to help prevent that from happening.
People with active TB disease have bacteria that are multiplying in the body, typically causing symptoms. Those with TB affecting the lungs or throat can spread the disease to others and are treated with antibiotics to eliminate the infection.
Without medication, about 10% of people infected with tuberculosis will develop TB disease at some point in their life, according to the Department of Public Health.
According to data from the CDC, in 2025 TB cases were provisionally reported with a corresponding rate of 3.0 cases per 100,000 population. That number represented a decrease of 1% in cases and 2% in rates from 2024 to 2025.
In line with previous years, in 2025, TB disease disproportionately affected non-U.S.–born persons. Non-U.S.-born individuals were 77% of total TB cases in 2025. Meanwhile, U.S.-born individuals made up 22%, according to the CDC.
Symptoms of tuberculosis include fever, chills, night sweats, loss of appetite, weight loss and fatigue.
When was the last outbreak?
One of the more recent large-scale outbreaks occurred in the Kansas City metropolitan area from 2024 through 2025.
In 2024, 113 cases of tuberculosis were recorded in Kansas compared to 51 in 2023.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment never identified the source of the outbreak. However, in November of 2025, after all patients completed treatment, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment declared the end of the outbreak.
Other outbreaks include at least 12 people detained at a federal immigration jail in Colorado who contracted the disease in 2026 and at Archbishop Riordan High School, where students and staff tested positive between November 2025 and April 2026, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
KTVU reported in May that nearly one in five students and staff at San Francisco’s Archbishop Riordan High School have been diagnosed with latent or active tuberculosis, the latest development in an outbreak that started in November.
South Carolina’s Tuberculosis Control Program protects the public by identifying cases, treating active tuberculosis disease and latent tuberculosis infection, identifying and testing people exposed to tuberculosis, and conducting targeted evaluations of those at high risk of developing the disease.
Tuberculosis reporting requirements are listed on the Department of Public Health’s website.