PARENTS at a Glasgow high school were notified yesterday that a 15-year-old pupil is receiving treatment for tuberculosis.

The girl is said to have contracted the illness from a close family member, but health officials have stressed that her infection is not believed to have placed any of her fellow pupils at risk and that no screening programme at Notre Dame High School, in the city's west end, is required.

The diagnosis comes two months after a teacher and a pupil at nearby Notre Dame Primary School were treated for the infection, leading to precautionary tests for 340 young people.

A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said that the latest infection was not linked to the two primary school cases.

Dr Oliver Blatchford, consultant in public health medicine for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: "This case is linked to an earlier diagnosis of TB within this pupil's family and is in no way related to the school.

"Indeed, this individual is showing none of the symptoms which can spread the TB bacteria, such as prolonged coughing, and therefore no risk has been presented to pupils at the school."

Tuberculosis is an infection caused by a germ which usually affects the lungs but can also develop in other parts of the body, such as the kidney or glands.

Around 400 cases are recorded in Scotland every year, with 200 of them in the Greater Glasgow area.

It is a disease often linked to poverty and asylum seekers are particularly vulnerable to the disease, although anyone can become infected.

Figures from Health Protection Scotland show that, in 2006, 40% of cases were among those not born in the UK. Of those, the most common countries of birth were India (9%) and Pakistan (8%).

More than 60% of cases affect males and it is relatively rare for children to contract the infection.

A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council confirmed that letters had been sent home with pupils of Notre Dame High School last night to inform them of the situation.