An open form of tuberculosis has been detected in a 10th-grade student at a school in Petropavlovsk, alarming parents and teachers. Hundreds of students and teachers have been invited for medical examinations, according to the website infohub.kz.
According to the Astana TV channel, the disease was diagnosed in the 10th-grade student. He last attended school on May 30.
According to the school's acting principal, information about the detection of the disease in one of the students was received on July 14. "At that time, the children were on holidays and the teaching staff were on leave. On June 26, a planned medical check-up was held — students underwent fluorography — during which he was diagnosed with pneumonia. After that, he was sent for treatment to the regional children's hospital, and after a CT scan the disease was detected," he explained.
An investigation has been launched by the city's sanitary and epidemiological control department. Students from grades 2 through 11 are currently being invited to medical facilities for check-ups. The entire school — both children and teachers — is considered a potential circle of contacts.
The head of the department, Daniyar Ospanov, said: "On July 14, an urgent notification was received by the Petropavlovsk city sanitary and epidemiological control department from a medical organization about the registration of an open form of tuberculosis among children under 18. We immediately began anti-epidemic measures — disinfection in the outbreak sites, and anti-epidemic measures related to contact persons. The circle of contacts was identified. Now, together with the medical organization that sent the urgent notification, as well as at the place of affiliation, an investigation is being conducted into the registration of this disease."
When exactly the student contracted tuberculosis, the department found it difficult to answer, but suggested that it could have occurred as a result of prolonged pneumonia.
It is worth recalling that in May 2025, an open form of tuberculosis was also detected in a 6th-grade student from one of the district schools in the North Kazakhstan Region.