Last Friday, Princeton University Health Services sent out an email to the campus community reporting a confirmed case of tuberculosis (TB). The email did not share the identity of the infected individual and said that there was only one isolated case.
“There has not been an increase in appointments or testing beyond the evaluation of identified close contacts,” University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill wrote in a statement to The Daily Princetonian. “All close contacts have been assessed and tested.”
No students interviewed by the ‘Prince’ reported changing any day-to-day habits, such as social distancing or masking, in response to the confirmed case.
“At first, I was concerned about what I should do. But as time went on, I sort of forgot about it,” said Nasir Aliu ’29 in an interview with the ‘Prince.’
Morrill explained that “treatment typically requires several weeks before a person with TB stops being able to spread it to others,” which suggests that the infected individual is currently contagious.
Darwin Lopez-Campos ’29 told the ‘Prince’ that he felt “uninformed” on the situation. The University has not issued any further statements or updates since the email sent on Friday.
According to the TB page on the University’s Emergency Management website, TB is an airborne, bacterial infection. Symptoms include “a persistent cough lasting three weeks or longer, chest pain, unexplained weight loss, fever, chills, fatigue, and night sweats.”
It can be transmitted through coughing, speaking, or singing, and typically requires “prolonged, repeated exposure in an enclosed, poorly ventilated space,” the website says. There is minimal risk for transmission through brief physical contact or proximity with an infected individual, according to the CDC.
The email to the campus community stated that TB is “highly treatable and curable with modern medicine” and the website says that “almost all patients with active TB disease will recover and be cured.”
Some students told the ‘Prince’ they were aware of outbreaks of other diseases, including COVID-19.
Rose Campbell ’29 told the ‘Prince’ about her own experience coming down with an unknown illness in the midst of a capella group tryouts. “It is really a bummer because I was lucky enough to get some callbacks for a capella groups in two days, and I just don’t know if my voice will be back in time,” Campbell said.
“It’s definitely a combination of getting back to campus and seeing everyone, the stress and business of settling into classes, and getting readjusted to the new workload,” she continued. “I also think that Princeton students don’t want to miss out so they keep attending classes and go out, which further spreads whatever illnesses are going around.”
Owen Rulyak ’26, a member of the Princeton rowing team, said that “a number of people” on the rowing team contracted COVID-19 last week.
Rulyak told the ‘Prince’ that he initially started feeling sick last Wednesday, at which point he quarantined for three days, causing him to miss classes during that time. As he began to recover, several of his teammates tested positive for COVID-19, prompting him to test as well. Upon receiving a positive result, Rulyak said that he remained quarantined for several more days.
“I think a lot more people did have it and didn’t know,” Rulyak added. “[The team] is where I realized it was going around.”
Samuel Posada Sanchez ’29 told the ‘Prince’ that he had noticed a general uptick in illnesses around campus.
“I feel like everyone is sick nowadays, and I’m just hoping that the community is well taken care of so that nothing happens even if [anyone] does get tuberculosis,” Posada Sanchez said.
“Students should seek medical evaluation if they have any history that increases the likelihood of exposure and they develop symptoms such as a persistent cough, fever, night sweats, or unexplained weight loss,” Morrill advised. “Anyone identified as a contact should follow all instructions from University Health Services, including testing and any recommended follow‑up.”
More information and updates can be found at https://emergency.princeton.edu/tuberculosis.
Toby Chang is a staff News writer from Prescott, Ariz. He can be reached at toby.chang[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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