A PATIENT HAS been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

The Health Service Executive confirmed today that one patient at the hospital’s emergency department was diagnosed with the disease.

Three other adults, who were in close contact with the infected patient, are now being tested.

Staff have also been notified and given advice as a precautionary measure, a HSE spokesperson said.

According to LMFM radio station, the infected patient spent five days on a trolley at the emergency department.

In a statement today, the HSE moved to reassure people in the area. Nobody else is at risk, it said, and the emergency department, as well as the rest of the hospital remains open for visitors and patients.

There is also no need for any former patients to make contact with the hospital.

TB is a disease that mainly affects the lungs and is spread through the air. However, the HSE advises that there needs to be close and prolonged contact with an infected person to catch the disease. The illness has become far les common as living conditions, antibiotics and vaccinations improve.