Lothians student being treated for tuberculosis

TUBERCULOSIS screening is being carried out at a college after a student from the Lothians was found to be infected with the condition.

The 20-year-old was one of two from the same course at Forth Valley College’s Falkirk campus who were found to have the disease.

Public health experts say the two cases are thought to be linked, but both students are receiving treatment and neither are infectious.

Follow-up screening has been carried out with their immediate families, along with a number of teachers and students.

Dr Jennifer Champion, consultant in public health medicine for NHS Forth Valley said: “There are around 400 cases of TB in Scotland every year and the vast majority are successfully treated. The risk of infection among people who have been in close contact with a case is low.”