Babies to be tested after London hospital worker is stricken with TB

Jun 28 2006

Following the discovery that a London hospital health worker has been found to have tuberculosis (TB), more than 200 babies are to be tested for the disease.

The health worker who was diagnosed with TB in March may have been ill since last December and it is very unlikely that the person has infected others at the hospital.

However the families of 213 babies treated on a postnatal ward at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital in London have been advised to have their babies screened.

TB is a curable infectious disease and usually affects the lungs.

The disease can lie dormant for years and is transmitted in airborne droplets of mucus and saliva.

Symptoms include a cough, phlegm, weight loss, fatigue and fevers.

The hospital says it was taking the precautionary measure because babies who contract TB are more likely than adults to become seriously ill.

A series of special screening clinics have been set up by the University College London Hospitals Trust and all patients and staff who may have come into contact with the affected person are being contacted and offered information, advice and reassurance.