A SCHOOLBOY has been diagnosed as suffering from tuberculosis.

The student, from Easingwold School, near York, is receiving treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis, which affects the lungs.

Doctors said he was responding to treatment.

North Yorkshire Health Protection Agency has offered screening, involving a chest x-ray, to everyone who was in close and prolonged contact with the pupil.

It told parents it was an isolated case, and that there was little risk of other youngsters developing the disease.

The agency denied rumours in Easingwold that three pupils had contracted the illness or were suspected of having it.

A spokeswoman said the standard treatment given in such cases involved a course of antibiotics over six months, with patients normally feeling better after two to four weeks.

It is not yet known how the boy contracted the illness.

The spokeswoman said: "The form of tuberculosis involved was a disease of the lungs, which could be passed from person to person, usually when an affected person is coughing.

"However, this infection is not spread easily. The risk to other pupils is minimal, as the infection is quite difficult to pick up.

"This is a single, isolated case and no further action is required, but doctors at the North Yorkshire Health Protection Unit will keep the situation under review."

The school takes pupils from Easingwold, the Vale of York and the north part of York.