30 prison officers contract latent TB

THIRTY prison officers who work at Cloverhill prison in west Dublin have tested positive for latent TB.

They were among 49 officers who were tested after six inmates developed the contagious form of the disease last summer.

The type of TB the prison officers have is not contagious, but it can become active at a later stage if not treated properly, or if any of their immune systems suddenly weaken because of other health problems.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) is continuing to trace people who may have been in contact with inmates who contracted the bacterial infection.

They have all been returned to the prison after being treated in hospital.

The HSE will continue to carry out further TB tests on some of the 250 inmates and staff at the prison next week.

Prison officers held a meeting at Cloverhill yesterday and are calling for all staff to be tested at regular intervals.

Prison Officers Association (POA) deputy general secretary Gabriel Keaveny said the HSE and prison authorities “needed to put in place fairly rigorous communications to staff” about the disease.

Prison officers are often in very close contact with inmates, especially as they have to be handcuffed to them for trips to court and for hospital appointments.

This increases their chances of catching the disease if the inmate has contagious TB.

Meanwhile, the HSE has confirmed that a patient with TB was in the emergency department of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda for five days and as a result three other patients who were in “close contact” with that person have been offered screening.

It is understood the patient went to the emergency department approximately two weeks ago.

In the last fortnight the number of patients on trolleys in the department hit a record high of 58.

Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) spokesman Tony Fitzpatrick said overcrowding at the hospital “creates infection control risks”.