Scottish youngsters treated for TB

Parents of children at a primary school in Scotland have received warning that children from the school have been identified with tuberculosis (TB).

Three children from the same family are currently being treated for TB, which usually affects the lungs, by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

However, pupils at Haghill Primary School in Dennistoun, Glasgow, where two of the sick children attend, will not be screened because the health board believes that the children involved are not infectious.

The NHS board for Greater Glasgow and Clyde took pains to stress that this was not considered an outbreak and that all three children were recovering at home.

TB is a chronic infectious disease that usually attacks the lungs, but can also affect the central nervous system, the lymphatic system, the circulatory system, bones, joints and skin. Symptoms of the disease, which can be fatal if not quickly treated, include a bloody cough, weight loss, high temperature, chest pains and loss of appetite.

In 2006, there were 8,497 cases of TB reported in the UK, with 40 per cent of cases originating from the London area, according to the Department of Health.

News brought to you by Global Health TV, covering the issues of Health in the Developing world.