Helmond student dies of tuberculosis 04/12/2007 00:00

4 December 2007

HELMOND - A 19-year-old school student from Helmond died on Sunday from the effects of tuberculosis. The secondary school student at the Dr. Knippenbergcollege was admitted to a hospital in the Brabant town last week.

"The death of a student always has an enormous impact on the school," the school wrote in a letter to parents.

"As a school we will make every effort to provide the students with support. We have put together a team in the meantime, in which our healthcare team and the regional health authority GGD are participating."

Classmates, teachers and family and friends of the victim are being examined by the regional health authority to see if they too have contracted the contagious disease. The school also writes that the GGD has informed them that there is no reason to panic.

About 1,400 cases of tuberculosis are diagnosed in the Netherlands each year. Lung tuberculosis is the most common form. It is rare for a case of tuberculosis to be fatal these days.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease. It is caused by bacteria that spread via the blood stream and lymphatic system. Symptoms are coughing, fatigue, listlessness, weight loss, slight fever, night sweats, and loss of appetite. If someone's condition becomes serious, the brain, glands, joints, bones and other organs become affected.

Tuberculosis is passed on when the patient coughs up the bacteria. People living in the same area can breathe in the bacteria and become infected. It can take months or even years before the person becomes sick however, and some never do.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2007]

Subject: Dutch news