Several workers at ready meal company in Zeeland have tested positive for tuberculosis, the company has said in a statement.

In October, the Van Loon Group was told by Rotterdam-Rijnmond health authority  that one of its workers had the disease. Subsequent testing revealed three more infections at the Zeeland branch of the company Maître in Oude-Tonge.

The GGD then widened the search and found 80 workers had a reaction to the skin test showing they had been exposed to the bacteria. Further investigation will have to show if any of them have the contagious form of the disease which is spread by droplets released into the air.

Just one in 10 people who are infected go on to develop the disease, public health organistion RIVM said. It can take months and sometimes years before the disease manifests itself. People who have been exposed to the bacteria but do not fall ill cannot spread TB.

Two of the infected workers became very ill, and one of them died. The GGD said it is not clear if the death was a result of the tuberculosis.

There is no danger to food safety, the GGD has said, and production at the plant continues as normal.

Tuberculosis outbreaks are rare in the Netherlands. In 2023, the last year for which full figures area available, 710 people were diagnosed with TB.

The vaccine against tuberculosis is not part of the Dutch vaccination programme and is only given to those travelling to a country where the disease is still common, and to young children whose parents are from those countries.