Primary school pupils are being tested to check if there has been transmission of Tuberculosis at Heron Bay primary school.Two people — one a P3 student at the school — have been diagnosed with TB. Both have been isolated, are being treated, and no longer pose a threat for further transmission, according to the Health Department.This afternoon the Department issued a statement which said potential exposure to TB may have occurred “if a person was in prolonged close contact with the TB-infected student”.A spokeswoman said: “In this case this means that if a person spent an hour or more in the same closed room (such as a confined classroom) with the TB sufferer then the Department will be testing that person.“This infection can spread from person to person through the air. When an infected person coughs, sneezes or otherwise expels infected saliva droplets into the air, others can inhale these infected droplets and become likewise infected. Close contact with an infected individual or inhaling aerosolized droplets in the air is required for infection to occur. TB is not easily transmitted via casual contact.”Heron Bay School is a ‘single stream school’ and the dynamics of the school mean that classes and teachers do not mix regularly. Therefore the Department of Health is focusing their group testing efforts by starting with P3, where there is the highest risk of exposure to others, according to the spokeswoman.Group testing will be performed at the school on Friday for the class and its teacher. This is a two stage test and the students and the teacher will be required to return to the school on Monday at 10am to have the test read. The screening test which is offered by the Department of Health is a simple skin test.If there are any positive test results, the cases will be immediately referred to the Department of Health Clinic and the strategy for the second round of group testing will be rolled out, informed by the round one results.Area D of the Hamilton Health Centre (the Communicable Disease Clinic) will offer TB testing for those clients who may think they have been exposed between 8:30am and 10am on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with clients returning on day three (i.e. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday respectively) to have the test read. Emergency Department of KEHM is not the correct place to go, according to the Health Ministry.Concerned members of the public can also phone the Department of Health Communicable Disease Clinic on 278-6442 for further information.Tuberculosis is particularly common in regions where there is poverty, overcrowding, poor nutrition and inadequate access to healthcare, the spokeswoman explained.It is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis which typically infects the lungs but can affect other areas of the body.Useful website: www.cdc.gov.