2 Sisters workers treated for tuberculosis

18-Jun-2013 - Last updated on 19-Jun-2013 at 11:59 GMT

Four workers have been hospitalised after an outbreak of TB at 2 Sisters' West Bromwich site, in the West Midlands

2 Sisters Food Group and health officials are probing an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB), which has hospitalised four workers at the firm’s Dial Lane site in West Bromwich yesterday.

The four workers were well and had responded to treatment, according to the government health body Public Health England (PHE).

Staff at the site were being screened to detect the potentially fatal disease as a precautionary measure, said Dr Naveed Syed, PHE West Midlands consultant.

“TB is a serious disease, but the risk of catching TB infection is small,” said Syed. “It generally requires prolonged and close contact with somebody who has TB, such as someone living in the same house, and it can be completely cured with a course of antibiotics.

“There is absolutely no risk of TB being transferred in any other way, so these cases have no impact whatsoever on the quality of goods processed at the factory.”

‘No risk of TB being transferred’

A spokesman from 2 Sisters Good Group said: “We take the health and wellbeing of our workforce very seriously and we are keen to assist PHE in any way we can to reassure employees and provide them with any information or support necessary.”

The spokesman added that 2 Sisters was working with PHE to coordinate educational materials and screening sessions on site.

“As the experts at PHE have informed us, there is absolutely no impact on food quality or safety, so it’s very much business as usual at the site,” added the spokesman.

In addition to screening current staff, 2 Sisters management is also contacting some former employees. Letters containing information about TB and a dedicated helpline number are being sent to the workers. Further advice can be found by telephoning 0121 507 2858 or at http://www.hpa.org.uk.

TB is a bacterial infection spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person. It mainly affects the lungs but can also be found in other parts of the body, including the bones and nervous system.

Born outside the UK

In 2011, 8,963 TB cases were reported in the UK, according to the National Health Service. More than 6,000 cases affected people who were born outside the UK. About one-third of the world's population is estimated to be infected with latent TB and about 10% are likely to become active cases.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, two 2 Sisters workers were hospitalised last Friday (June 14) after what was reported to be a gas leak at its Coupar Angus factory.

The accident happened when the workers were investigating a problem in the plant’s boiler room. One of the men is thought to have leant against a piece of machinery, which resulted in a gas emission.

A 2 Sisters spokesman told FoodManufacture.co.uk investigations were continuing to uncover what had happened and the nature of the gas.

“We were extremely concerned to hear about the incident and our thoughts are with the two members of staff involved,” he said. “We are glad the injuries they sustained are not too serious.”

The firm acquired the Vion poultry-processing factory in Coupar Angus earlier this year, along with other UK sites formerly owned by the Netherlands-based meat multi-national.