Parents of primary and secondary school pupils in Cork will be relieved to hear that there is to be a second round of tuberculosis (TB) screenings following the recent outbreak of the disease.

Yesterday (September 16th 2010), the Health Service Executive (HSE) announced that parents and staff have been told there will be a second series of tests for nearly 200 pupils at Ballingtemple in Cork.

This is after six cases of active TB were confirmed earlier this summer, while 31 children and three adults had a latent TB infection.

A spokesperson for the HSE said that this is a precautionary measure "considering the very high attack rate" of TB and will prevent the outbreak from spreading to other primary or secondary school pupils.

It was added that "the outbreak control team is satisfied that there is no ongoing risk with regard to returning to school".

The first round of screenings began during the summer holidays, with all students receiving a skin test and chest X-ray.

Written by Donal Walsh 

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