Hundreds of TB outbreak contacts yet to be screened

Hundreds of people identified as contacts following a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in a Carmarthenshire village are yet to attend a screening, health officials have said.

Public Health Wales (PHW) said 31 cases of active TB had been identified since the 2010 outbreak in Llwynhendy.

PHW urged the 485 people who have been identified as contacts, but not attended a screening, to act.

More than 2,600 people have attended screenings since June 2019.

TB is a bacterial infection, spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person. It is a serious condition, but can be cured with proper treatment.

PHW said since 2010, 303 people - or more than one in 10 of those who had been screened - had been diagnosed with latent TB, which is not infectious and does not affect a person's quality of life, but may develop into active TB at a later date.

Dr Brendan Mason, from Public Health Wales, said: "We understand that during the coronavirus pandemic people may have been reluctant to go to a hospital to have their screening done, but I can assure them that there are safety measures in place in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

"Now is the time to get tested.

"It is really important that we screen all the contacts identified and make sure that anyone diagnosed with latent or active TB gets the monitoring or treatment that they need to prevent any further spread."

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Source: 24 February 2022