AN outbreak of tuberculosis at the Royal Sussex County Hospital has prompted a "widespread investigation".

More than 1,000 people may have been in contact with the disease at the Brighton hospital after a member of staff caught it from a patient and then passed it on to another patient.

Tuberculosis, or TB for short, is a bacterial infection spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person.

The condition can be lethal, if left untreated.

Once infected, symptoms include: 

  • A persistent cough that lasts more than three weeks and usually brings up phlegm, which may be bloody
  • Weight loss
  • Night sweats
  • High temperature (fever)
  • Tiredness and fatigue
  • Loss of appetite
  • Swellings in the neck

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust said it had contacted those who might have been affected but 400 screens had so far yielded "no active cases".

A spokesman for the trust said: "This was a strain of TB that is not routinely seen in hospitals and the Trust has been working closely with Public Health England.

"We have carried out a widespread investigation and contacted 321 patients and 745 staff to make them aware of the signs and symptoms of the infection and invite them to come in for screening. We have screened almost 400 people and no cases of active TB have currently been identified.

"Transmission of the infection was not linked to any deficiencies in care and our management of this incident has received the support of both Public Health England and The TB Centre at the London school of Hygiene and tropical medicine.

"Hospitals are obviously places where people come when they are unwell, which is why we, like all trusts, have robust plans in place to deal with these issues and help prevent further cases.

"It is because of these plans and our staff that we don’t see more incidents like this."