Sydney children tested for tuberculosis

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ALMOST 100 children, plus staff, from an inner Sydney childcare centre have been tested for tuberculosis and will know the results in 10 days time.

NSW Health said on Wednesday a staff member at the Surry Hills centre had been recently diagnosed with TB and was undergoing treatment.

It notified parents and staff and carried out screenings of people who were at the centre in December and January. Up to 15 staff and 92 children from 78 families were at the centre in that time. NSW Health said the results would be released on February 23. “We think the risk of transmission from the case to other people is low, but as a precaution because of the very high risk of tuberculosis in infants, we’ve progressed this as a matter of priority this week,” NSW Health’s communicable diseases expert Dr Vicky Sheppeard said on Wednesday. She said NSW had about 300 to 400 cases of tuberculosis a year.