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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Hospital alert after TB detected | Hospital alert after TB detected |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| More than 250 patients and staff at a hospital have been alerted after a worker was diagnosed with tuberculosis. | More than 250 patients and staff at a hospital have been alerted after a worker was diagnosed with tuberculosis. |
| The health care worker, who is based at the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI), has been diagnosed with a form of TB that is resistant to normal antibiotics. | The health care worker, who is based at the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI), has been diagnosed with a form of TB that is resistant to normal antibiotics. |
| Hospital bosses are writing to people who may have been in contact with the infected person and advising them to be tested. | Hospital bosses are writing to people who may have been in contact with the infected person and advising them to be tested. |
| They would not say where in the hospital the infected employee worked. | They would not say where in the hospital the infected employee worked. |
| A spokesperson said the worker was diagnosed three months ago and 264 people may have been in contact with them. | A spokesperson said the worker was diagnosed three months ago and 264 people may have been in contact with them. |
| In general the risk is very small. You would have to be in close contact for many hours to catch TB. Dr Martin Wiselka, consultant in infectious diseases | |
| Christine Perry, director of infection prevention and control at the United Bristol Healthcare Trust, said: "We have a duty to alert all those who have come into contact with this healthcare worker of this issue and we are offering everyone potentially exposed the opportunity to undergo screening as a precaution. | |
| "We understand that this may cause concern but we would like to stress that the risk to these patients and staff is very small." | "We understand that this may cause concern but we would like to stress that the risk to these patients and staff is very small." |
| Dr Martin Wiselka, consultant in infectious diseases at University Hospitals of Leicester, said if the person was infected and coughing-up phlegm in close proximity, there would be a possibility of transmission. | |
| "In general the risk is very small. You would have to be in close contact for many hours to catch TB. | |
| "The main risk would come before they were diagnosed. Once the patient is admitted and treated with antibiotics the infection levels go right down. | |
| "The treatment for some of the more resistant strains can mean taking tablets for 18 months to two years but as long as they keep to the treatment TB can usually be cured." | |
| No further details of the age or sex of the worker are being released by the hospital, which is citing patient confidentiality. | |
| TB is an infection caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. | TB is an infection caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. |
| Any part of the body can be affected, but in most cases the lungs are the first to feel the impact. | |