THE world’s mostinfectious disease has been detected in a senior school, according to health chiefs.
Parents of pupils at Morgan Academy in Dundee, Scotland were sent a letter on April 24, saying one child had tested positive for tuberculosis (TB).
Scotland has seen a surge in cases of the deadly Victorian disease in the past couple of years, withinfection rates jumping 40 per cent from 2022 to 2024.
This was the largest annual increase in infections since 2017.
In a letter, seen by The Courier, NHS Tayside, said it was getting in touch with anyone who has been in “prolonged contact”; with the pupil.
No other details about the case have been shared yet.
“As a precaution, health workers will be contacting a small number of people who may have had prolonged contact to offer further information and advice,” the letter read.
“We would like to reassure you that the risk to young people and staff at Morgan Academy is low,” it added.
“Young people should continue to attend the school and take part in all their usual and planned activities as normal, including all scheduled SQA exams.”;
TB is the deadliest infectious disease in human history – even now, itregularly killsabout 1.3 million people around the world each year – more thanandcombined.
It was briefly overtaken by, but it reclaimed the top spot last year.
The disease has started to surge globally for the first time in decades, with 7.5million people diagnosed in 2022 – the highest number ever recorded.
It is not as common in the UK as it is elsewhere in the rest of the world but in recent years, there has been a resurgence.
Theshowed cases in England jumped by more than 13 per centlast year, rising from 4,855 in 2023 to 5,480in 2022.
The increase in cases is seen in both UK-born and non-UK born people (after cases steadily rose among people born outside the UK for a number of years).
Earlier this month, a in a primary school in East Sussex.
In July 2022, Brits were urged to be on the lookout for signs of the deadly Victorian disease after an .
TB is a bacterial infection that begins by eating away at the lungs, destroying tissue. It is at this stage, when the infection is most active, that it is at its most infectious.
When someone with active TB , they release small droplets containing the bug into the air, for someone else to breathe in.
From the lungs, it can move to other parts of the body, like the tummy, bones, glands and nervous system.
Symptoms – like prolongedcough, chest pain, weakness, and fever – can be mistaken for a cold.
Depending on a person's age and health, they can suffer from an active infection for over a year.
During this time, they may experience, loss of appetite, and severe abdominal pain, which can eventually lead to lung collapse, fluid buildup, or other serious – and deadly – complications.
