By Dan Margolies

Kansas health authorities say four additional people have tested positive for tuberculosis out of 70 tested last week at Olathe Northwest High School.

The tests were conducted after a student came down with the infection last month. More than 300 people were tested shortly afterward and 27 tested positive for the disease.

The latest tests were done after officials found additional people who may have had contact with the student. Being infected isn’t the same as having the disease, whose symptoms include fever, night sweats, coughing and weight loss.

The infected individuals will be given free chest X-rays and antibiotics to kill the TB bacteria. A second round of blood tests will be administered on May 5 because it can take eight to 10 weeks for the bacteria to show up in TB tests.

Dan Margolies is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.