It's only month two into the new year, and already another case of active pulmonary tuberculosis is confirmed at a public high school.

“It’s kind of crazy. I haven’t heard anyone having that in a really long time,” one JFK student said.

The Guam Department of Education confirmed the case at Simon Sanchez High School.

The Department of Public Health and Social Services notified education officials but they are unable to say if the patient is a student or a staff member.

“It’s something new–something we don’t hear a lot,” another student added.

KUAM spoke with students from both simon sanchez and john f. kennedy high schools about it.

The two school communities are currently in double-session, sharing the Upper Tumon campus at different times during the instructional day.

“I’m just curious because most of us are sick, like my friend at his house,” a Simon Sanchez student said.

“Scared,” another added. “We have some people who got infected already, and I’m scared that one of us might be next.”

Again, GDOE has only confirmed a single TB case at Sanchez High.

That case, however, follows a confirmed TB diagnosis at Tiyan High School last month, as well as a recent outbreak in Kansas, where state officials reported 67 active cases and 79 latent ones.

As KUAM previously reported, TB exists in two forms, latent tb infection and active tb disease, both of which are treatable.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, individuals with latent tb do not feel sick, exhibit symptoms, or spread the bacteria. However, if the germs become active, they can develop TB disease, which is contagious.

TB germs can enter the air when a person with active TB in their lungs or throat coughs, speaks or even sings. These germs can linger in the air for hours, depending on the environment.

People with active TB disease are most likely to spread it to those they interact with regularly, such as family, friends, coworkers, or schoolmates.

GDOE said it excludes an identified TB case from school until they are cleared by Public Health.

Public Health also requires all individuals in close contact with the patient to be evaluated to determine if transmission has occurred among students and staff.

A free TB skin test will be available at the John F. Kennedy High School campus on Tuesday, Feb. 18, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

A PPD reading is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 20 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.