Childminder and children diagnosed with TB in Cardiff

Parents were being contacted by health experts in the UK today after a childminder and four children were diagnosed with tuberculosis.

The National Public Health Service for Wales said it had worked with Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust to investigate everyone who has been in contact with the woman. As a result, four children were diagnosed with the disease. All those affected are from the Ely area of the city.

Another six people are being treated with preventative medicine but have no signs of TB.

Dr Gwen Lowe, consultant in communicable disease control with the NPHS, said today: “As a result of the screening we have carried out, we have detected a number of cases of TB. It is usual to extend screening more widely when we find TB in close contacts.

“Careful assessment has identified that we should screen young children, child-minders and adults attending a specific two-hour weekly drop-in session at the Ely Family Centre.

“Although it is unlikely that TB could have been transmitted in such a short time, we are offering screening tests as a precautionary measure.

“We are contacting staff and the parents or guardians of the children concerned today. We are giving them an opportunity to meet with us to discuss what we are doing.”

The NPHS said the woman was diagnosed in mid April and is “responding well” to treatment.

A total of 11 adults and 30 children have been invited to be tested for tuberculosis. The screening tests will take place on June 6, with the results read two days later.

Dr Lowe said: “Other staff and visitors to the centre are at extremely low risk and do not need screening.

“Normal casual contact such as passing someone in a corridor or sharing a lift does not put someone at risk of developing TB.”

She said not all adults with TB are infectious, and that children are very rarely infectious.

She added: “From a public health perspective, the childminder can continue to operate as normal because those screened are not infectious. We have had excellent support from the childminder.”