Harold G. Downs and Corinne Mannino

An active case of tuberculosis discovered on campus has prompted University health administrators to offer free testing for the disease.

SIUC student and men’s basketball player Thanasis Topouzis, of Kontariotissa, Greece, was reportedly enroute to Chicago March 9 when health officials learned of his illness and contacted him. He returned to Carbondale and admitted himself into Memorial Hospital of Carbondale for treatment.

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Doctors at Health Services said that Topouzis has had active TB and been contagious since the end of December.

According to Dr. Cheryl Presley, it is the policy of the Health Services Clinic to not release medical information, even under subpoena. However, Presley said Topouzis wanted it announced so that people could make their own decision whether or not they want to be tested.

Topouzis has been quarantined in the hospital for the past week and has another week before he can be released.

He’s in good spirits for someone in a room as big as he is, Dr. Rollins Perkins, medical chief of staff at the Health Services Clinic said.

Officials have sent about 700 letters to people in Topouzis’ classes, on the basketball team and in Abbott Hall where he resides, and they said that anyone with about 200 hours of shared air could be infected.

This is not a cause for panic, it’s a cause for concern, Perkins said.

Rich Herrin, men’s basketball head coach, said some of players have already been tested, but others will be tested today and Wednesday.

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“This is a difficult thing, but again, it happens,” Herrin said. “[The players] are not concerned. I think the fact that it is difficult to catch helps reassure them.”

Tuberculosis is contagious and potentially fatal. If an infected person coughs or sneezes, a person can catch the disease by inhaling the same air as long as the infected person carries an active form of TB. A person cannot contract TB without breathing it.

Constant coughing, fever, night sweats and weight loss are some of the symptoms caused by the disease. Skin tests are used to verify the presence of the disease, which can take up to three months to be detected. If the test turns up positive, chest x-rays and blood tests are conducted to determine the status of the disease.

Antibacterial drugs may be used for nine months to prevent tuberculosis from turning into an active strain. Those on this medicine are warned against drinking alcohol while on the medicine.

Dr. Perkins said re-exposure to the disease, even after treatment, requires additional treatment. There is no immunization for this disease.

Dr. Perkins said that 5 percent of people infected with TB will develop the active disease within two years. Another 5 percent will develop it within their lifetime.

In many other people who are exposed, their bodies wall off the disease and they do not get it. Those who have the inactive disease are not contagious.

According to the Jackson County Health Department, the last five years saw an average of three active TB cases per year. Last year, about 200 people in Jackson County tested positive for TB infection.

Skin tests for tuberculosis will be conducted today and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the second floor of Kesnar Hall on Greek Row.

The test is free and if found positive for TB, the nine months of medicine, chest x-rays and blood tests are also free of charge.

Daily Egyptian reporter J. Michael Rodriguez contributed to this story.