EMERGENCY screening is being offered to borough residents after a health worker was diagnosed with deadly tuberculosis.

Health chiefs from both Bromley and Bexley and Greenwich health authorities -- where the infected person worked, --would only say the worker was an NHS employee and did not reveal what their job was or where they worked.

The authorities, who issued a joint statement, said they had traced everyone who had come into contact with the worker.

Each person has received a letter advising them of the situation and offering them screening. They have also been given a helpline number to call if they need any other advice.

The healthcare worker, who has TB of the lung, is now on sick leave and is receiving treatment.

Tuberculosis of the lung is transmitted through breathing in germs that have been emitted by an infected person.

The incubation period is between four to 12 weeks and a simple skin test to diagnose it is best done six weeks after contact.

Most children are now vaccinated against TB and the killer disease can now be cured with six to 12 months' treatment.

There were 25 recorded cases of TB in Bromley in 1998.

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