Johns Creek High families notified of tuberculosis exposure, screenings offered

The Fulton County Board of Health confirmed a tuberculosis case at Johns Creek High School and sent notices to parents, guardians and students about possible exposure at the campus on State Bridge Road. Health officials said the alert is meant to identify close contacts who may need screening, not to trigger a broad public alarm.

TB exposure does not mean everyone at the school was infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says exposure can happen when someone spends time near a person with active TB disease, and the germs can stay in the air for several hours depending on the setting. Only people with active TB disease can spread it to others, which is why public health staff focus on who was actually near the infected person and for how long.

That targeted approach is standard in schools. The CDC says contact investigations in school settings are a routine TB control strategy, and the National Prevention Information Network’s school toolkit is designed for health department staff planning those investigations. For Johns Creek High School families, that means the most important next step is watching for follow-up communication from the school or health department about whether a student or staff member was identified as a close contact.

The Fulton County Board of Health says TB testing is offered every day except Thursday at a flat fee, and that screening is available for TB contacts and high-risk groups. It describes TB as an infectious airborne disease caused primarily by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. People who were close to the infected person may be told to get tested even if they feel well, because TB can be managed through screening and contact tracing before it spreads further.

The notice lands as Georgia continues to see a modest rise in TB activity. The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 254 tuberculosis cases in 2024, up from 246 in 2023, and the state rate rose to 2.3 per 100,000 from 2.2. CDC provisional data show 10,347 TB cases nationwide in 2024, with a national rate of 3.0 per 100,000.

For Forsyth County families with students, teachers or after-school activities tied to Johns Creek, the practical concern is straightforward: wait for the school’s contact notice, follow screening instructions if they arrive, and treat the alert as a focused public-health response. The health agencies involved are working through the privacy, timing and attendance issues that come with school exposure investigations, while trying to keep rumor from outrunning the facts.