KENNESAW - About 100 high school students have been tested for tuberculosis after officials found out a student tested positive for the disease.

Health officials notified Kennesaw Mountain High School in July that a rising sophomore tested positive, Cobb County school district spokesman Jay Dillon.

Parents of students who had classes with the student or rode the bus with the student were then sent letters asking them to come in for testing, Dillon said.

None of the students tested positive for exposure to tuberculosis, Cobb and Douglas Board of Health spokeswoman Sheena Haynes said.

"This was normal procedure," Dillon said. "We worked closely with the health department."

Kennesaw Mountain High School Principal Dr. Kevin Daniel said the process of notifying and testing students "worked very well."

Tuberculosis is a disease caused by bacteria called mycobacterium tuberculosis, which usually attacks the lungs. The bacteria are released into the air when a person with active TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs or sneezes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal, but people with active TB disease can be treated and cured if they seek medical help.

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On the Net:

CDC tuberculosis info: http://www.cdc.gov/tb/pubs/TBfactsheets.htm