A tuberculosis expert has warned that clusters of infection traced back to Dublin pubs could be a sign of an epidemic outbreak.
Dr Margaret Hannan says that of 300 cases studied recently the majority were Irish males from north Dublin, many of whom drank in local pubs.
Dr Hannan told the Irish Medical Times that these findings are a sign of a lack of TB control and that cases are not being picked up by the health system.
She said 26 cases of infection were traced to one bar.
Ms Hannan, a microbiologist with the Mater Hospital who is preparing nationwide statistics on the disease, says the problem has been exacerbated by the closure last year of Peamount Hospital, the country's only tuberculosis hospital.
