TB outbreak - Exposure to disease was unnecessary

The outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) in two creches in Cork is undoubtedly like the reoccurrence of an old nightmare for many older people.

Up to the 1950s the disease was a dreaded killer in this country.

TB had been on the increase worldwide for some years, and the outbreak in Cork is a blistering indictment of contemptible complacency of the Health Service. We were spending money to help the World Health Organisation eradicate TB abroad, while the dangers were being largely ignored in Cork, which was the only county where new-born babies were not routinely given the BCG vaccine.