A case of tuberculosis (TB) has reportedly been identified in Ennis.
The HSE confirmed to Clare FM that it is carrying out routine screenings after a single case of the disease was discovered in the Co Clare town.
The case is thought to be linked to St Flannan’s College, a local mixed secondary school.
Parents of the students there who may have come into contact with the TB bacteria have been informed.
In the case of a potential outbreak of the disease, those who have come into contact are tested for it as a precaution, the HSE said.
It was once very common in Ireland, as “more young Irish people were slain by TB than in warfare,” notes Dan Buckley of the Irish Examiner.
The disease was often known consumption because one of its symptoms was severe weight loss as the disease ‘consumed’ the body.
Other symptoms of TB include a chronic cough that lasts over three weeks, sputum and mucus overproduction, coughing blood, fatigue, appetite loss, fever and sweating.
It’s now rare in Ireland and the rest of Europe thanks to the widespread availability of the BCG injection.
The injection is administered to all children in Ireland in the first few months of life.
