MANY hundreds of patients are to undergo emergency health checks after it was discovered a Dartford healthcare worker had tuberculosis.

The discovery has been reported to Dr Mathi Chandrakumar, clinical director of the Kent Health Protection Unit.

Now more than 2,000 patients and staff from Dartford who have been in contact with the healthcare worker are to be screened.

Dr Chandrakumar said: “This particular healthcare worker has a form of TB with a very low infectivity.

“I will be very surprised if we do find any case of infection when we screen the staff, patients and family.”

He went on to say TB is completely curable and a course of treatment consists of a course of three or four drugs, taken for at least six months.