TB outbreak strikes school

Dozens of pupils at Palmerston North Boys High School have tested positive for exposure to tuberculosis (TB) - and hundreds more will be tested this week and next.

A 13-year old student at Palmerston North Boys High School was admitted to hospital on August 16 after doctors diagnosed him with the disease.

Now, 28 out of 30 students in his Year 9 class have tested positive for exposure to the bacteria, as have seven of his 11 teachers.

All 11 members of the boy's family have also all tested positive for exposure.

Everyone exposed is now having chest x-rays to determine whether they have the disease.

The school's rector, Tim O'Connor, said 500 other boys - all of the school's Year 9 students and all of the boarders - would be tested tomorrow. The rest of the students would be tested next week.

"We are concerned obviously for the health of our students, but Mid-Central Health is doing a great job. The processes are very clear," he said.

Everyone except for the boy in hospital were able to go about their daily business as usual, as they were not contagious until the bacteria progressed to the later stages.

The test used was a Mantoux skin analysis, which detects infection or exposure to the disease. Positive results do not mean those tested have the active TB disease.

About 10 to 15 per cent of those exposed to the bacteria may develop symptoms, usually within two years.

The boy in hospital now faces a six-month course of medication to treat the disease.

Mid-Central Health spokeswoman Claire McMahon said processes were in place to manage the outbreak.

"TB is a notifiable disease. It can spread quickly in environments like schools and is primarily transmitted person-to-person, by coughing," she said. It could also spread through droplets left on surfaces.

Symptoms included a persistent cough, bloody spit, weight loss, sweating and chills, fever, shortness of breath and tiredness. The disease was readily curable with antibiotics.


TB in NZ

* TB in New Zealand peaked in 1943, according to the Ministry of Health.

* But the 400 cases annually notified to the health authorities mean an average yearly TB rate of 10 per 100,000.

* Since a low in 1988 of 295 notified cases, there has been a gradual increase in the number of cases.

- NZPA