A San Ysidro High School student has tested positive for tuberculosis, and the county health department will test 177 people at the school who have had direct contact with the student, Principal Hector Espinoza said.

The infected student is at home and under the care of professionals with the county Health and Human Services Agency, Espinoza said, but the student's seven teachers and 170 classmates have been cleared to continue attending school pending the results of tests next week.

A teacher and the parents of 16 students at nearby Montgomery High School are also being notified of possible tuberculosis exposure. The teacher and students attended a spring intersession class at the San Ysidro High campus. They will be tested the week of May 26.

“This is not a panic situation,” San Ysidro High's Espinoza said. He said it's business as usual on the 2,400-student campus in Otay Mesa. “What we've tried to do is defuse the situation, put it on the table, not make it secret.”

Espinoza said county health officials informed him Tuesday morning about the positive test. That day he assembled administrators and health officials to establish a response.

The school sent letters home Wednesday with all students to inform parents of the situation. School officials also began tracking down the 177 people who were potentially exposed to give them forms seeking their consent to be tested for tuberculosis on campus next week. Espinoza said that because of absences and field trips, school staff still has not reached every person who was potentially affected.

The school has brought in a substitute nurse to handle day-to-day illnesses and injuries while the school's full-time nurse dedicates herself to handling parent and student inquiries about tuberculosis.

Symptoms of the disease include a persistent cough, fever,night sweats and unexplained weight loss.

There were 315 cases of tuberculosis reported in the county in 2006.