Trinity St David Student Dies From TB
Public Health Wales urges close contacts to get TB screening
A student at Trinity St David University in Lampeter has died from Tuberculosis.
Public Health Wales is working with the local health board and university to identify close contacts of the student and offer them TB screening.
Health officials say there is no link between this case and the ongoing outbreak of TB at Llwynhendy in Carmarthenshire.
Sion Lingard, Consultant in Health Protection for Public Health Wales, said: “A multi-agency Incident Management Team (IMT) has been convened to look into this case and any control measures that are needed.
“The risk to the general public remains very low, as TB is difficult to transmit. It requires close and prolonged contact with an infectious individual, such as living in the same household, for a person to become infected.
“We are in the process of identifying close contacts of the deceased to offer them TB screening by Hywel Dda University Health Board and providing advice to staff and students of the university.
“TB is curable with a full course of treatment.”
Work to identify close contacts is ongoing, so those that would benefit from TB screening will be contacted directly.
TB Symptoms
Anyone suffering from a combination of an unexplained prolonged cough (sometimes this may include coughing up blood), unexplained weight loss or night sweats should seek advice from their GP.
Public Health Wales would like to offer their condolences to the family and friends of the deceased. It won’t be possible to comment any further on this matter pending further investigations.