Three regulars at a British Legion club in Cumbernauld have been struck by the potentially fatal disease.

The cases emerged just days after health officials confirmed that two men had died after contracting TB in a Glasgow pub.

We have two full-time tuberculosis nurses that go out and contact, trace and support the patients who are infected

Dr George Venters Public health consultant

NHS Lanarkshire's public health consultant, Dr George Venters, said on Monday that three cases of infection had come to light in Cumbernauld over an 18-month period.

"They are being treated at home and they are doing very well," he told BBC Radio Scotland.

He said that people in the British Legion and the men's close contacts had all been screened and no further cases had been found.

Dr Venters stressed that the disease was taken "very seriously" by the NHS board.

"We have two full-time tuberculosis nurses that go out and contact, trace and support the patients who are infected.

Course of antibiotics

"It isn't widespread, it is not a common disease, but we have about 40 or 50 cases a year in Lanarkshire," he said.

He said that a six-month course of antibiotics was usually required to treat the condition.

"Once they are infected they quickly become non-infectious by giving them the appropriate course of antibiotics," added Dr Venters.

Two drinkers at the Lord Darnley pub died

Last week it emerged that 170 people had been screened in Glasgow after the death of two men who contracted TB at the Lord Darnley pub in the Pollokshields area of the city.

Eddie Weldon, 74, and John Calderwood, 56, who were both customers, died of illnesses related to the infection in May and September.

Five people were diagnosed with the disease after a cluster of cases which were traced back to a former barmaid.

Officials stressed that there was little chance of the disease spreading further.

TB is caused by a bacterium which usually affects the chest and can be caught from someone else's cough.

There are about 400 cases of TB every year in Scotland, and an estimated 10% of patients die.