SINGAPORE: One staff member who worked at MindChamps PreSchool at East Coast has tested positive for active tuberculosis, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said on Wednesday (Aug 20).
She is a household contact of an earlier case which prompted testing across two preschools, and the agency said early results showed no evidence of TB transmission within both childcare centres.
None of the children at MindChamps PreSchool at East Coast and MapleBear Toa Payoh have tested positive to date.
“The exposure is more likely to have occurred in the household,” CDA said. “There is currently no evidence of spread within the preschools.”
The staff member of MindChamps PreSchool at East Coast was clinically diagnosed with active TB on Aug 18, pending laboratory confirmation. She is currently asymptomatic, on medical leave and will be non-infectious after completing two weeks of treatment, said CDA.
As a precautionary measure, CDA has contacted the preschool to identify staff and students with close and prolonged contact with the individual to offer TB screening.
SCREENING FOR 115 PEOPLE
Screening was conducted across the two preschools after a teacher who worked at both places was diagnosed with TB in July.
Among the 115 people who were tested, 93 were screened onsite, 21 have scheduled appointments at the National TB Screening Centre (NTBSC), while one person was screened at a private laboratory.
Among the 93 individuals screened onsite, 80 people – or 86 per cent – tested negative for the disease.
Eight people, comprising six children and two staff members, had indeterminate results.
“This means that the results are inconclusive, and the likelihood of TB infection cannot be determined,” CDA said. “This is not uncommon in young children as their immune responses are less mature.”
