University Hospital officials made the announcement Monday afternoon at a news conference. The employee is currently being treated at the hospital for the disease.

However, officials did not delve into more detail on some questions - for instance, specifically where the employee works and how many people could have been exposed.

Officials did say they have identified and tested about 20 people at "high risk" of being exposed.

They claim no one in that group has displayed symptoms of active tuberculosis.

Active tuberculosis is particularly rare in Missouri.  Only 108 people contracted the disease in Missouri in 2008, or about one in every 55,000.

As part of the illness' response, the Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services has been notified and will investigate as mandated by federal law. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is also investigating the infection.

Officials said similar individual infections have occurred in cities throughout the U.S. in the past few years. The most recent was in Chicago about a month ago.

Symptoms of Active Tuberculosis:

1. A bad cough that lasts three weeks or longer.
2. Chest pain.
3. Coughing up blood/sputum.
4. Weakness/fatigue.
5. Weight loss.
6. No appetite.
7. Chills, night sweats, fever.

Tuberculosis facts:

There are two types of tuberculosis, latent and active. Both are bacterial infections. Active is more dangerous, but treatments are very effective. Latent TB  can live in your body without making you feel sick, and you don't show any signs of infection. If you have latent TB, it is not contagious. Only 5 to 10 percent of infected persons will develop active TB at some point in their lives. Latent TB can only be found through special blood tests or through a skin test.