THOUSANDS of patients and staff in Kent have been informed about a care worker who has been diagnosed with Tuberculosis, (TB).

The carer, who cannot be named for confidentiality reasons, worked in five different GP surgeries and a nursing home in the county between September and December last year - unaware at that time of carrying the infection.

The Health Protection Agency, (HPA) has now sent letters to more than 30,000 patients and staff informing them of the worker’s diagnosis and to reassure them of the low risk involved in contracting TB in this way.

Dr Mathi Chandrakumar, director of the Kent Health Protection Unit, said: "We want to reassure people that there is very little risk of contracting TB in this way but we want to keep them informed of the situation.”

A HPA spokesman has stressed that out of the 30,000 letters been sent out to people across Kent ,only 900 would have had direct contact with the worker but only 130 people will need to be screened

Mr Chandrakumar added: "Those who will need to be screened, possibly because of their own medical condition or reduced immunity, will be informed and will have appointments at a chest clinic arranged for them in the next week or so.

"It is important to remember this does not mean they have active disease and that TB infection is completely treatable with antibiotics."

The healthcare worker, who was diagnosed with TB in December, has started treatment and is currently on sick leave.

The HPA said TB tests are unreliable if performed too early because the infection develops very slowly. Testing is therefore performed about six weeks from the date of exposure to avoid ‘false negative’ results.

For more information visit www.hpa.org

* Tuberculosis, or TB, is a disease caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB usually affects the lungs but can affect other parts of the body.

* TB symptoms involve fever and night sweats, persistent cough, losing weight, blood in sputum. In situations like that, the HPA normally organises for all those who may have been in significant contact with an infectious case to be screened using one or both of the skin or blood tests.

* TB is completely treatable. It is usually transmitted when a person with infection in the lung has close and sustained contact with others when they cough, sneeze etc. But only some people with TB in the lungs are infectious to other people. Such cases are called ‘sputum smear positive’ or 'open'. Even then, close and prolonged contact is needed to be at risk of being infected.

* Sputum smear positive cases stop being infectious after 2 weeks of effective treatment.

* TB is treated with a combination of antibiotics and treatment for active disease usually lasts six months. TB disease develops slowly in the body and it usually takes several months for symptoms to appear.

* People who may have been in contact with an infectious case of TB can be tested using a skin test called the Mantoux test which is the standard test for contact testing. A positive result could indicate infection and such people will require further investigations, including often a chest X-ray.

* Newer blood tests called Interferon-Gamma tests are also available which can be used as an adjunct to the skin test.