Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/w...ns-caught-up-in-1996-outbreak-91466-25903444/
TB tests for people in three towns
Feb 24 2010 By Madeleine Brindley
THE first TB community screening programme of its kind in Wales has been launched to test people in three towns hit by an outbreak.
Tuberculosis tests will be offered to 250 people living in parts of Rhondda Cynon Taf following the small outbreak, which has been linked to a cluster of cases 14 years ago.
A total of 26 people have been confirmed with TB in the years since the original 1996 cluster and nearly all have the same strain as that identified 14 years ago.
It is not known whether anyone in the affected area is currently being treated for the disease. But almost all of the 26 cases of TB have been diagnosed in people who were contacts of cases in the 1996 outbreak.
The TB screening programme, which will be done by Public Health Wales and Cwm Taf Health Board, will affect people living in Glyncoch, Rhydyfelin and parts of Ynysybwl, near Pontypridd, and will start on March 9.
Dr Gwen Lowe, a consultant in communicable disease control for Public Health Wales, said: ?If you have been identified as a close contact of someone with TB from this outbreak you may still be at risk of catching it and will need to be tested, even if the contact was a long time ago and you have been tested for TB before.
?We are urging everyone who receives a letter to come forward and get tested regardless of whether they have symptoms or not.
?TB is a slowly evolving disease. Some people develop TB after a few weeks or months, whereas others may have no symptoms but still have the TB germ and may become ill many years later.
?We hope the community screening programme will stop the TB from spreading any further.?
About 200 people are diag -nosed with TB every year in Wales. A significant proportion are home-grown cases, but many cases are in people arriving in Wales from global TB hotspots.
TB has continued to linger in some parts of Wales, particularly former mining communities, which suffered high rates of the disease as a result of poor housing conditions.
The bacteria which causes TB can survive in the body without a person suffering any symptoms ? this is known as latent TB.
But it can be activated if a person?s immune system becomes suppressed or by taking certain medications, including steroids.
TB is an infection usually found in the lungs, but any organ of the body can be affected. Anyone can catch TB by breathing in the bacteria.
The most common symptom is a persistent cough for more than three weeks, with sometimes blood-stained spit. Other symptoms include weight loss, a high temperature, and sweating, particularly at night.
Dr Lowe said: ?TB is potentially a very serious disease and can be fatal. It is difficult to catch but easy to treat. It occurs in all countries and at all ages, and this outbreak is no exception.
?The way we screen for TB has changed and the new screening process is better at finding people who have caught the TB germ.
?Some people may think they do not need to get tested because they had the BCG vaccination against TB when they were younger.
?This is not the case. The BCG only offers limited protection against TB and we now know the protection from the vaccination lessens over time.
?There are very effective treatments available to cure TB, but prevention remains better than cure. Early detection, especially through screening programmes such as this, is important in reducing the spread of the disease to others.?
Letters will be sent to people inviting them to have the Mantoux skin test and while they will be given priority, anyone in the affected areas who is concerned about TB can also be screened.
The community screening sessions will start on March 9 at the Glyncoch Christian Fellowship Church, in Glyncoch.
TB tests for people in three towns
Feb 24 2010 By Madeleine Brindley
THE first TB community screening programme of its kind in Wales has been launched to test people in three towns hit by an outbreak.
Tuberculosis tests will be offered to 250 people living in parts of Rhondda Cynon Taf following the small outbreak, which has been linked to a cluster of cases 14 years ago.
A total of 26 people have been confirmed with TB in the years since the original 1996 cluster and nearly all have the same strain as that identified 14 years ago.
It is not known whether anyone in the affected area is currently being treated for the disease. But almost all of the 26 cases of TB have been diagnosed in people who were contacts of cases in the 1996 outbreak.
The TB screening programme, which will be done by Public Health Wales and Cwm Taf Health Board, will affect people living in Glyncoch, Rhydyfelin and parts of Ynysybwl, near Pontypridd, and will start on March 9.
Dr Gwen Lowe, a consultant in communicable disease control for Public Health Wales, said: ?If you have been identified as a close contact of someone with TB from this outbreak you may still be at risk of catching it and will need to be tested, even if the contact was a long time ago and you have been tested for TB before.
?We are urging everyone who receives a letter to come forward and get tested regardless of whether they have symptoms or not.
?TB is a slowly evolving disease. Some people develop TB after a few weeks or months, whereas others may have no symptoms but still have the TB germ and may become ill many years later.
?We hope the community screening programme will stop the TB from spreading any further.?
About 200 people are diag -nosed with TB every year in Wales. A significant proportion are home-grown cases, but many cases are in people arriving in Wales from global TB hotspots.
TB has continued to linger in some parts of Wales, particularly former mining communities, which suffered high rates of the disease as a result of poor housing conditions.
The bacteria which causes TB can survive in the body without a person suffering any symptoms ? this is known as latent TB.
But it can be activated if a person?s immune system becomes suppressed or by taking certain medications, including steroids.
TB is an infection usually found in the lungs, but any organ of the body can be affected. Anyone can catch TB by breathing in the bacteria.
The most common symptom is a persistent cough for more than three weeks, with sometimes blood-stained spit. Other symptoms include weight loss, a high temperature, and sweating, particularly at night.
Dr Lowe said: ?TB is potentially a very serious disease and can be fatal. It is difficult to catch but easy to treat. It occurs in all countries and at all ages, and this outbreak is no exception.
?The way we screen for TB has changed and the new screening process is better at finding people who have caught the TB germ.
?Some people may think they do not need to get tested because they had the BCG vaccination against TB when they were younger.
?This is not the case. The BCG only offers limited protection against TB and we now know the protection from the vaccination lessens over time.
?There are very effective treatments available to cure TB, but prevention remains better than cure. Early detection, especially through screening programmes such as this, is important in reducing the spread of the disease to others.?
Letters will be sent to people inviting them to have the Mantoux skin test and while they will be given priority, anyone in the affected areas who is concerned about TB can also be screened.
The community screening sessions will start on March 9 at the Glyncoch Christian Fellowship Church, in Glyncoch.