TB SCARE ABATES AT T.O. MIDDLE SCHOOLS.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

The scare that sent about 110 pupils and staff at two middle schools to be tested for exposure to the contagious form of tuberculosis turned out to be a false alarm, officials said Monday.

The Conejo Valley Unified School District and Ventura County Public Health Department officials said the school worker previously believed to have been carrying contagious tuberculosis turned out to be infected with a noncontagious form. No one at either Los Cerritos or Colina middle schools, where the unidentified person works, has been exposed to microbacterium tuberculosis, the only contagious form of the lung disease's many types.

"All these types look and act the same," said Marilyn Billimek, public health nurse and program coordinator for the Public Health Department. "That's why you can't tell them apart until the lab work is done."

All forms of tuberculosis cause symptoms similar to pneumonia, including chills, fever, loss of appetite, night sweats and general fatigue, Billimek said.

Victims also cough up blood in severe cases, she said.

About 50 pupils and 60 staff members at the two schools were tested Jan. 23 after they came in contact with the worker who at the time had been suspected of carrying active tuberculosis. Test results two days later were negative on all those tested, Billimek said.

"Everyone turning up negative was another clue that this was not contagious, and it wasn't," she said.

County health officials confirmed about two weeks ago that the carrier had the noncontagious form, Billimek said.

Richard Simpson, assistant superintendent of instructional services for the school district, said the district had been notified Friday by the Public Health Department and immediately sent letters to the parents of the youngsters tested, notifying them of the new development.

Though school district officials were relieved, Simpson said precautions such as the tuberculosis testing need to be taken if there is even the remotest possibility that students might have been exposed to the contagious disease.

"It's better to err on the side of caution, and unfortunately it's the nature of tuberculosis that it's not something you can diagnose in 24 or 48 hours," Simpson said.

According to Simpson, the suspected tuberculosis carrier is back at work and is doing fine.

"That person did go through a whole course of treatment," he said. "They're back and fully cleared by their physician and the health department."

Last year, the county recorded 74 cases of contagious tuberculosis, compared with 59 cases in 1994. Fifty-seven were reported in 1993, 50 in 1992, 52 cases in 1991 and 60 cases in 1990.

Statistics on the noncontagious forms are not kept because they are not reportable, Billimek said.