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11/07/2008
TB Scare At Manchester University
A health scare has broken out at Manchester Metropolitan University after a former student tested positive for TB.
Students and staff are now being screened for the diseases and 150 others are urgently being traced.
Five of those who tested positive are being treated for the condition and the remaining 18 are carriers, but are not infectious and are not exhibiting any symptoms.
It is understood that the delay in treating people is because of the "complexity of treating those at risk".
It is not believed that any students currently studying at the University are affected.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection that most often affects the lungs.
Dr Erika Duffell, a consultant with the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said "three people who had particularly close contact with the patient have developed active TB".
Dr Duffell said "as a general rule" it is not easy to contract TB as it "does not spread easily from person-to-person".
University spokesman Gareth Holliman said lists are being compiled of staff and students "who may have been in prolonged close contact with this student".
Mr Holliman said "we've been following the guidance of the HPA without causing panic or unnecessary inconvenience in the whole university community".
The number of reported cases of TB has slowly increased in recent years, with around 800 recorded cases in the North West last year.
TB can also affect the central nervous system, the circulatory system and even the skin.
The disease is treatable with antibiotics but it is highly infectious and potentially fatal.
One third of the world's current population has been infected by TB and according to the World Health Organisation, new infections occur at a rate of one per second.
(DS)
Students and staff are now being screened for the diseases and 150 others are urgently being traced.
Five of those who tested positive are being treated for the condition and the remaining 18 are carriers, but are not infectious and are not exhibiting any symptoms.
It is understood that the delay in treating people is because of the "complexity of treating those at risk".
It is not believed that any students currently studying at the University are affected.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection that most often affects the lungs.
Dr Erika Duffell, a consultant with the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said "three people who had particularly close contact with the patient have developed active TB".
Dr Duffell said "as a general rule" it is not easy to contract TB as it "does not spread easily from person-to-person".
University spokesman Gareth Holliman said lists are being compiled of staff and students "who may have been in prolonged close contact with this student".
Mr Holliman said "we've been following the guidance of the HPA without causing panic or unnecessary inconvenience in the whole university community".
The number of reported cases of TB has slowly increased in recent years, with around 800 recorded cases in the North West last year.
TB can also affect the central nervous system, the circulatory system and even the skin.
The disease is treatable with antibiotics but it is highly infectious and potentially fatal.
One third of the world's current population has been infected by TB and according to the World Health Organisation, new infections occur at a rate of one per second.
(DS)
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Government announces changes to TB vaccinations
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