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TB outbreak: Residents offered screening at Llwynhendy

BBC Llwynhendy signBBC
The outbreak stretches back to 2010

People are being advised to undergo screening to help control an outbreak of tuberculosis that has been linked with one death.

Experts said 29 people have been affected in Llwynhendy, near Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, since 2010.

About 80 others have been identified as contacts of the confirmed cases and are being invited to be screened.

Public Health Wales (PHW) said there could be more unidentified TB cases associated with the outbreak.

Letters have been sent out to people associated with the confirmed cases requesting they attend screenings which may lead to further tests and treatment if required.

A spokeswoman for PHW confirmed one death in 2018 had already been linked to the outbreak, but was unable to give further details about the case.

Exterior view of The Joiners Arms
Staff and customers at The Joiners Arms between 2005 and 2018 have been asked to participate in the study

PHW is also calling on people who may have been exposed to TB as an adult customer or employee of the Joiners Arms public house in Llwynhendy, between 2005 and 2018, to come forward.

SA Brain, which owns the pub, said: "Given the importance of the Joiners Arms in the heart of the Llwynhendy community it is inevitable that several of those affected will have used the pub and mixed with others there in that time.

"Along with other venues in the area, we are open as a screening centre next week."

The disease is said to be rare with about 100 cases each year in Wales, according to PHW.

Dr Brendan Mason, from PHW, said community screening was the "best course of action in order to bring this outbreak under control" and added the pub itself was not a health risk.

He said it also coincided with a shift in global health strategies focused on eradicating the disease by 2035.

Screening will be carried out on 4 and 5 June at the Joiners Arms, as well as Llwynhendy Health Centre and Parc y Scarlets.

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What is TB?

Getty Images Area of the lungs affected by TBGetty Images
In Wales, there are about 100 cases a year of tuberculosis
  • An infection usually found in the lungs, but any part of the body can be affected
  • It is contagious and caught by breathing in the bacteria in tiny droplets sneezed or coughed out by someone with TB in their lungs
  • The most common symptom is a persistent cough for three weeks or more
  • Treatment usually involves taking antibiotics for several months
  • While TB is a serious condition that can be fatal if left untreated, deaths are rare if treatment is completed

Source: NHS Choices