3<\/p>\n A case of TB has been detected at Meridian Community Primary in PeacehavenCredit: Google 3<\/p>\n Children and staff in close contact with the pupil will need blood tests at Royal Alexandra Children\u2019s Hospital this weekCredit: Getty<\/p>\n England has seen a surge in cases of the deadly Victorian disease in the past couple of years, with officials warning in December<\/a> for Brits to stay alert for symptoms.<\/p>\n The letter, seen by The Argus<\/a> and signed by headteacher Claire Westcott, said parents would hear next from the Public Health Protection Team.<\/p>\n Children and staff in \u201cregular and close contact\u201d with the case will need blood tests at Royal Alexandra Children\u2019s Hospital this week as a precaution, it said.<\/p>\n Other children will require a screening in school on Wednesday 23 and 24 and children not in \u201cregular or close contact\u201d will not require any screening.<\/p>\n No other details about the case have been shared yet.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are working closely with the school and following national guidelines, which include identifying those with greatest contact and arranging TB screening for them,” Natalie Adams, from UKHSA UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) South East team, said.<\/p>\n “As a precautionary measure we have decided to offer screening to some of those in the school to ensure no further onward transmission,” she told The Sun.<\/p>\n TB is the deadliest infectious disease in human history – even now, it\u00a0regularly kills over a million people a year and infects millions more.<\/p>\n It was briefly overtaken by Covid-19<\/a>, but it reclaimed the top spot last year. <\/p>\n The disease has started to surge globally for the first time in decades, with 7.5million people diagnosed in 2022 – the highest number ever recorded.<\/p>\n Victorian illness fears sweep US city after patient visited multiple campuses and exposed elementary school students<\/p>\n The\u00a0latest figures from the UK Health Security Agency<\/a>\u00a0showed cases jumped by more than 11 per cent\u00a0last year, rising from 4,380\u00a0in 2022 to 4,855 in 2023.<\/p>\n In July 2022, Brits were urged to be on the lookout for signs of the deadly Victorian disease after an\u00a0outbreak at a university in Wales<\/a>.<\/p>\n Health<\/a>\u00a0officials are now calling the highly infectious bug a “serious public health issue in\u00a0England<\/a>“.<\/p>\n TB is a bacterial infection that begins by eating away at the lungs, destroying tissue. It is at this stage, when the infection is most active, that it is at its most infectious.<\/p>\n When someone with active TB coughs, they release small droplets containing the bug into the air, for someone else to breathe in. <\/p>\n From the lungs, it can move to other parts of the body, like the tummy, bones, glands and nervous system. <\/p>\n Symptoms – like prolonged cough<\/a>, chest pain, weakness, and fever – can be mistaken for a cold.<\/p>\n Depending on a person’s age and health, they can suffer from an active infection for over a year. <\/p>\n![\"Entrance](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/meridian-community-primary-school-peacehaven-983989341.jpg\")
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