Residents at an Aberdeenshire nursing home are being screened for tuberculosis after a member of staff fell ill.

There are about 50 residents at the privately run Pitcairn Lodge in Kirkton of Skene and all have been offered chest X-rays or blood tests as a precaution. The results of the tests which have been taken have not yet been received.

The staff member is understood to have become unwell with suspected TB in the past fortnight. An NHS Grampian spokeswoman said the testing at the nursing home was a precautionary measure and that the condition was "not particularly infectious".

She added: "It would be rare for this infection to have been passed on to other residents or staff members. However, NHS Grampian has written to all the residents in the care home. As a routine precautionary measure the residents are being offered screening for TB either by a chest X-ray or a TB blood test.

"This screening is still underway and full results are not yet available. Letters have also been sent to staff working in the care home."

In 2005, the last year for figures, there were 389 confirmed cases of TB in Scotland.