- Home >
- News >
- Irish News
TB cases confirmed in two Dublin prisons as inmate and staff member test positive

Cloverhill Prison
Isolated cases of TB have been confirmed in Cloverhill and Wheatfield Prisons.
The Sunday World has learned one inmate in Wheatfield Prison has tested positive for the disease while a staff member in Cloverhill has also tested positive.
The cases are unrelated and are thought to be isolated – and therefore the positive tests are not being viewed as an outbreak.
In the case of the inmate, a foreign national who had been committed arising from a burglary conviction, he was detected positive as a result of tests carried out during the committal process.
He had minimal interaction with other inmates or staff however contact tracing has been carried out and the HSE notified.
The inmate has since been removed to hospital for treatment.
In the case concerning the female officer, it is understood she was out on sick leave when she notified management of a positive test.
She had no contact whatsoever with the inmate affected.
Tuberculosis (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 it can affect any part of the body, including the tummy (abdomen), glands, bones and nervous system.
Instances of Tuberculosis in Irish prisons resulted in the establishment of infection control teams in 2017.
One of the key components in combatting the illness was education with staff and prisoners being regularly briefed on infection control including hygiene techniques and coughing etiquette.
Read more
Infection control teams and infection control measures were strengthened in the prison system as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic – and resulted in relatively low numbers of inmates contracting the virus.
In a statement, the Irish Prison Service confirmed it is “working with the Department of Public Health, HSE on two separate cases of TB in different prison settings.
“Screening of close contacts is underway in accordance with the Guidelines for the Control and Prevention of Tuberculosis in Ireland 2010,” the statement said.
Today's Headlines
Miami bust | Feds in Florida release images of two Irishmen arrested with gun and $32,000 in cash
Welfare worries | People on the dole could lose income by going back to work, Senator claims
raunchy rhyme | Ryan Giggs assault trial hears x-rated poems he wrote about his hard ‘totem pole’
garda probe | Suspended solicitor (54) is arrested in probe into alleged €4m theft
feud fracas | Rival factions clash in broad daylight as feud reaches boiling point in Co Clare town
VICIOUS ASSAULT | Thug who claimed he was victim of hate campaign is convicted of attacking man with flagpole
hack of it | All you need to know about the dangers of Apple’s iPhone security bug
home inferno | Dublin Firefighters tackled large blaze at derelict house on southside
money mobs | Sam ‘Skelly’ McCrory rounded on ‘drug dealing’ loyalist paramilitaries in final interview
new blood | How Ineos could rebuild Manchester United – with controversial former cycling boss David Brailsford centre stage