HSE begins rescreening those affected by TB outbreak

RESCREENING for TB has begun among children and adults caught up in an outbreak of the disease which has left 21 people infected.

Children and staff at Panda Paws Preschool and Childcare facility in Little Island, Co Cork, underwent repeat screening for the disease yesterday, more than two months after the first case was diagnosed in a childcare worker at the creche.

Six children at the Little Island facility have been diagnosed with the disease since the first case was revealed on March 15. An additional 12 children and two adults at a second creche — Nurture Childcare in Douglas, Cork city — are also infected.

The childcare worker who was first diagnosed with TB also worked at the Douglas creche prior to Christmas.

Yesterday, Dr Margaret O’Sullivan, consultant in public health medicine, Health Service Executive (HSE) South, said they would begin repeat screening at the Douglas creche shortly. “The repeat screening will consist of a mantoux (skin) test, for which results will be available within 72 hours. The results will determine the next step public health officials will take,” she said.

The two-month interval between original and repeat screenings is related to the incubation period for TB. Once exposed to an infectious case, it can take anything between two and 12 weeks for a person to develop the disease.