Colleagues screened as TB strikes phone worker

VODAFONE workers are being screened for tuberculosis after an employee at the company's base in Chesterton was diagnosed with the disease.

The firm has confirmed one of its workers is being treated for TB, a potentially fatal infectious disease caused by bacteria.

Yesterday, The Sentinel reported how pupils at Clough Hall Technology School in Kidsgrove had been offered free tests for TB after a teacher contracted the disease. The two cases are not believed to be linked.

A spokesman for Vodafone said the employee in question worked at the firm's base at Holditch House. The mobile phone giant employs around 1,400 people in Chesterton, Newcastle and Etruria.

The spokesman said: "We are offering tests for the illness next week to a small number of employees who would have been in close contact with the individual.

" We are confident we have taken every precaution necessary at this stage and we will continue to run our operation as usual."

The firm is working with the chest clinic at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire and the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

TB is caused by a germ usually spread in the air. It generally strikes at the lungs but can also affect the central nervous system.

The disease is spread by coughing and sneezing, but not everyone with TB is infectious, and even then it requires close and prolonged contact to be at risk.

A spokesman for the HPA said: "Public health experts at the Health Protection Agency, University Hospital of North Staffordshire and North Staffordshire Primary Care Trust have been notified of an employee at Vodafone in Chesterton who has been diagnosed with TB. The person is currently receiving treatment. In line with national guidance, close contacts have been identified and will be offered screening."

Dr Musarrat Afza, consultant for the HPA in Staffordshire, said: "TB is generally a preventable and curable condition. The trick is to diagnose it early and get people with the infection into appropriate treatment as soon as possible. In most circumstances, they will be completely cured in approximately six months on TB drugs and they will cease to be infectious after just two weeks on treatment."

Symptoms of TB include fever and night sweats, a persistent cough, weight loss and blood in sputum (phlegm or spit). Anyone with concerns should consult their GP or NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.