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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Tuberculosis scare at university | Tuberculosis scare at university |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| More than 20 students have tested positive for TB after a former student at Manchester Metropolitan University was found to have been infected. | |
| Experts are now trying to contact about 150 people who may have been in contact with her. | Experts are now trying to contact about 150 people who may have been in contact with her. |
| Hundreds of students have already been tested and four are being treated for the condition which is most commonly spread by being breathed in. | Hundreds of students have already been tested and four are being treated for the condition which is most commonly spread by being breathed in. |
| Eighteen others are said to be carriers and not infectious or have no symptoms. | |
| It is not thought that any students currently at the University are affected. | It is not thought that any students currently at the University are affected. |
| TB is a bacterial infection that most often affects the lungs. | |
| Approximately 8,000 cases are recorded in England and Wales every year. | |
| 'Close contact' | |
| Dr Erika Duffell, a consultant with the Health Protection Agency (HPA), said: "Three people who had particularly close contact with the patient had developed active TB." | |
| A member of staff is thought likely to have TB, but it is not known if the infection was transmitted by the former student. | A member of staff is thought likely to have TB, but it is not known if the infection was transmitted by the former student. |
| Dr Duffell added: "As a general rule, it is not easy to contract TB as it does not spread easily from person-to-person. | Dr Duffell added: "As a general rule, it is not easy to contract TB as it does not spread easily from person-to-person. |
| "To be at risk, one must usually spend hours in close contact with someone who has active disease, is infectious and has a cough." | "To be at risk, one must usually spend hours in close contact with someone who has active disease, is infectious and has a cough." |
| University spokesman Gareth Holliman said: "We've been identifying members of staff and students who may have been in prolonged close contact with this student. | |
| "We've been compiling lists of staff and students and providing those to the health authorities so people can be screened." | |
| He added: "We've been following the guidance of the HPA without causing panic or unneccesary inconvenience in the whole university community." |