Parents of primary and secondary school children in Ireland are likely to be concerned after an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) was confirmed.

Three school children from Ballintemple National School in Cork were diagnosed in the last three weeks, which has led to public health screenings being held for more than 220 young people and teachers at St Finbarr's Hospital.

The first case of TB was confirmed in a primary school child, a month after the school holidays began.

It will take two weeks for all the screenings to be complete and will involve children having to complete a questionnaire, undergo a skin test and have a chest X-ray.

A doctor told the Irish Times that the number of cases of the disease is slowly starting to increase after 50 years of decline.

Figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre revealed that there were 9.7 cases per 100,000 people in 2000, rising to 11.3 per 100,000 just seven years later.

Written by Donal Walsh 

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