Two cases of tuberculosis detected in a school, screening of the entire establishment organized

Two cases of tuberculosis were detected last Monday, in two children at a nursery school in Libourne, the Gironde departmental council said on Wednesday. “The two sick people were taken care of and to date present no further risk to the community concerned,” assures the department.

However, it was agreed between the Tuberculosis Control Center (CLAT) and the Regional Health Agency (ARS) “to extend screening to the entire establishment” continues the department, which specifies that it will include “the students, teachers and professionals identified as contacts in the school. »

Airborne transmission

The CLAT also “determined the people who had been in close contact with sick people” outside the establishment. Screening is being organized in order to identify possible “secondary cases” to offer them “quickly appropriate treatment and thus avoid the spread of the disease. » Screening includes a chest X-ray and an immunological test.

Tuberculosis is a contagious bacterial infectious disease caused by Koch’s bacillus, recall the department and the ARS. “In the event of close contact with a sick person, the contact person may become infected”, transmission taking place “through the air” (during coughing or sneezing.) In the event of contamination, “patients may develop either a latent form, that is to say dormant and non-contagious, or active tuberculosis. »