Parent pulls daughters from TB scare school
However, the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the school said all proper screening was carried out.
After being treated in hospital, the girl is continuing her treatment at home, according to the HSE.
The girl’s classmates and members of the school choir, of which she is a member, were screened by a medical team as were some members of the teaching staff.
A spokesman for the HSE said: “This screening process involved a skin test which is red after approximately three days. There is no need for people to absent themselves from the school or work for the duration of this process.”
One parent, Andrew Quinn, from Fr Russell Road, who decided to remove his teenage daughters from the school said: “I just want peace of mind. We’re not talking about the flu here. I’d feel a lot safer if everybody was screened, just in case. I was told that just the girl’s classes, as well as the choir and teachers, were being screened, because they were only looking at people who might have had long-term contact with the student.” He was not satisfied that students in corridors or the yard might not have had just as lengthy contact with the girl.
Mr Quinn said he would be keeping his daughters, aged 14 and 16, at home until next Monday at the least.
The HSE spokesman said: “In accordance with national screening guidelines, all those who have been in regular close contact have been offered screening. Casual contact is not an indication for TB screening.”
School principal Marian Cummins said it was a “very low risk scenario” and she had total confidence in how the public health officials and HSE staff were dealing with the matter.
She said: “I am absolutely confident all preventative measures have been taken and what the HSE has done is in accordance with national guidelines.”
