Tuberculosis case in France prompts contact screening
Two others have since been found to have a less contagious form of the disease
Published
Modified
A case of tuberculosis has been reported in a town in the south-east of Paris, with health authorities carrying out screening among those who may have been in close contact with the affected person.
The case was reported in late July in Ivry-sur-Seine, in Val-de-Marne, where the person had been at the Rosalind primary school and leisure centre while potentially contagious.
Contact screening has identified two others with a less contagious form of tuberculosis, with Le Parisien reporting that all three affected are children.
Contacts being screened
The tuberculosis control centre (CLAT 94) has launched an investigation with the regional health agency for Ile-de-France (ARS), the municipal services of Ivry-sur-Seine and local education authorities to identify others who may have been exposed to the disease.
The investigation is focused on those who had close and prolonged contact with either the original child during the period when they could have been infectious and / or the two other cases.
Those identified are being contacted directly by CLAT 94 and offered screening. This includes a medical consultation, a chest X-ray and a tuberculin skin test.
What is tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium known as the Koch bacillus. Only people with the respiratory form of active tuberculosis are contagious.
It is spread through the air when an infectious person talks, coughs or sneezes, usually following close and prolonged contact.
Symptoms can include a persistent cough, night sweats, weight loss, fever and significant fatigue.
There is also latent tuberculosis infection, where the bacteria are present in the body but the person is not ill and cannot transmit the disease.
While the disease can be treated effectively, children under five and people with weakened immune systems are at greater risk of developing active disease following infection.
Tuberculosis remains relatively uncommon in France, although cases continue to be reported.
In the Île-de-France region, 1,523 cases were reported in 2024, down from 1,769 in 2023.
There is a vaccine for it, the BCG vaccine, but it is not mandatory and does not give complete protection.
