Health officials have assured parents of Heron Bay Primary school students that tuberculosis is not easy to catch.About 35 parents turned up last night for a meeting at the school where one student has been found to have been infected with TB.Their questions ranged from the availability of a vaccine, to the differences between the flu and TB, but many were concerned about possible transmission to their own children.Officials explained that infection from one person to another is transmitted through droplets coughed or sneezed out by an infected person and inhaled by another but the two have to be within kissing distance of each other.They stressed that TB cannot be spread through surface or casual contact, and the bacteria dies quickly in the air.The audience were told that two people living in a household with a case of TB had not been infected.But officials were not divulging any details due to patient confidentiality rules.Nurse epidemiologist Liz Outerbridge said that the department is screening P3 students as a priority, but that anyone with concerns is welcome to go to the health clinic for screening.She explained that persons with TB are treated for several months before being cleared to return to work or school. They must, however, continue to take their medication until the course is finished.She added that patients face no financial barriers to treatment or screening as Government picks up the insurance co-pay or the full cost if necessary.Besides concerns about their children’s possible exposure to the disease, some parents were miffed that they first heard of the health scare through the media.Health Ministry Permanent Secretary apologised for the handling of the communication, saying that once letters to P3 parents had gone out, a media statement was released.But he promised that future communication would be through the school first.Parents were generally satisfied with the information at the end of the one-hour session.“It seems to have eased a lot of parents’ concerns,” said a father of one Heron Bay student.PTA President Craig Simons told The Royal Gazette that attendance at the meeting was higher than normal and that the majority had left satisfied with the information they heard.He said he expected all the parents to send their children to the school this morning.“I think they became more comfortable as the evening wore on when they started to ask further questions,” agreed principal Joann Dill.She said school will open as normal today.