Screening as pupils contract TB

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/6647995.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Pupils and teachers at a junior school are being screened for TB after four pupils tested positive for the disease.

A letter was sent to parents of pupils at Southfields Junior School, in Luton, Beds, offering the tests after a pupil displayed symptoms of tuberculosis.

Three of his classmates were confirmed to also be in the early stages of the disease, which the Health Protection Agency said is not contracted easily.

Luton has three times as many incidents of TB than the national average.

The bacteria, which commonly affects the lungs, is on the increase nationally, the Health Protection Agency has said.

The affected pupils are being treated with antibiotics and the school has offered the screening as a precaution.