Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.eht-forum.org/news.html?fileId=news100324080710&from=home&id=0
Wednesday 24 March 2010
TB school risk clearer
Scientists quantify the risk of catching TB from a classmate as cases reach five-year high in the UK
Kids in the same school year as a student with active tuberculosis (TB) run a significantly higher risk of catching the disease than their teachers or students in other year groups, health scientists report this month in Eurosurveillance.
This is the first investigation to look at the risk of TB transmission during a school outbreak in the UK, or in any part of the developed world with a relatively high prevalence of the disease. The results support recommendations currently in place to control the disease in UK educational facilities.
?It does not appear that being in an area with high TB incidence substantially alters the epidemiology of the outbreak or risk of transmission between students in comparison to other populations,? write Michale Caley, from the Birmingham East and North Primary Care Trust, UK, and colleagues.
UK health authorities reported earlier this month that the number of TB cases has increased by more than 5% in the country. Current TB-control policies for UK schools, put in place by the UK?s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, are based on limited evidence: findings from five studies conducted in other countries, none of which took place in areas with a high TB prevalence.
This month?s report documents an outbreak at an inner-city comprehensive school in Birmingham city, in the West Midlands region, where TB incidence is high relative to other parts of the UK. This region accounts for more than 11% of all cases of the disease recorded in the country, according to new TB figures released by the Health Protection Agency this month...
Wednesday 24 March 2010
TB school risk clearer
Scientists quantify the risk of catching TB from a classmate as cases reach five-year high in the UK
Kids in the same school year as a student with active tuberculosis (TB) run a significantly higher risk of catching the disease than their teachers or students in other year groups, health scientists report this month in Eurosurveillance.
This is the first investigation to look at the risk of TB transmission during a school outbreak in the UK, or in any part of the developed world with a relatively high prevalence of the disease. The results support recommendations currently in place to control the disease in UK educational facilities.
?It does not appear that being in an area with high TB incidence substantially alters the epidemiology of the outbreak or risk of transmission between students in comparison to other populations,? write Michale Caley, from the Birmingham East and North Primary Care Trust, UK, and colleagues.
UK health authorities reported earlier this month that the number of TB cases has increased by more than 5% in the country. Current TB-control policies for UK schools, put in place by the UK?s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, are based on limited evidence: findings from five studies conducted in other countries, none of which took place in areas with a high TB prevalence.
This month?s report documents an outbreak at an inner-city comprehensive school in Birmingham city, in the West Midlands region, where TB incidence is high relative to other parts of the UK. This region accounts for more than 11% of all cases of the disease recorded in the country, according to new TB figures released by the Health Protection Agency this month...