TB figures stabilise but remain at high level

30 October 2008

Health Protection Agency urges people with symptoms to seek early diagnosis

Everyone should be aware of the symptoms of TB and be able to recognise them when they occur and furthermore people who suspect that they may have the infection should seek medical advice as soon as possible, the Health Protection Agency North West advised today.

The Agency is also stressing that it is vitally important for people with TB infection to complete a full course of treatment that usually lasts for six months, even though they may feel better after just a few weeks.

The advice is issued to coincide with publication of the HPA's annual TB report for 2007, which reveals that 8,417 cases of TB were reported in the UK in the year under review, a slight decline of 0.9% on 2006 but markedly up on the 6,726 cases reported in 2000.

Here in the North West, 743 cases were reported in 2007, little changed from the figures of 727 in 2006 and 758 in 2005, indicating that TB levels in the region may have reached a plateau.

There were increases in the City of Manchester where the TB rate is now 41.4 cases per 100,000 of population, compared to an England average of 15.2 cases per 100,000 and a North West Regional average of 10.8 per 100,000.

The 187 cases reported in Manchester in 2007 compared to 171 reported in 2006.

Dr. Marko Petrovic, the HPA's Regional TB Lead for the North West of England, said: "Publication of this national report gives us a great opportunity to raise awareness of TB, what it is, how it spreads and the symptoms to look out for.

"We have two key messages. If people think that they might have symptoms of TB they should seek medical help as soon as possible. The earlier the condition is diagnosed, the better the prognosis for the patient and the better things are for people close to the patient. TB is almost always fully curable, but if left untreated for too long, there is a greater chance of serious damage being caused to the patient's lungs. It can even be life-threatening.

"Our second key message is that the full course of treatment must be completed. Patients usually cease to be infectious after just two weeks on treatment and they tend to feel much better, but if they do not continue the full course, infection may return and possibly in a drug-resistant form that is much more difficult to deal with."

Commenting on the national situation, Dr Ibrahim Abubakar, Head of the Tuberculosis Section at the Agency's Centre for Infections, said: "While the apparent stabilisation of TB incidence in the UK is encouraging, rates remain at their highest since the late 1980s, and efforts to control and accelerate the downward trend must be kept up.

"Although levels of TB among the general population continue to be low, in some areas of the UK, such as the inner cities, it is clear that rates of TB remain high. The majority of TB cases in the UK occurred in young adults aged 15-44 years with the London region accounting for the largest proportion (39%) of cases."

Professor Mike Catchpole, Director of the Agency's Centre for Infections, said: "TB is a global health issue and continues to be a major public health problem in the UK which is why it remains a priority for the Agency.

"Due to the importance the Agency places on controlling TB, we work closely with public health and NHS colleagues on a national, regional and local level to monitor progress towards the goal of controlling and eventually eliminating this disease. For the second year running we have included information from Scotland which allows us a UK-wide perspective on the number of people with TB, enabling us to look at the nature and extent of the disease in the different countries and regions of the UK and take appropriate action based on this information.

"We know the burden of TB exists mainly in high risk groups including hard-to-reach communities in the UK. We are working with the Department of Health on outreach programmes to tackle directly the areas and groups with the highest numbers. 

"We should consign this major global killer infection to history - this needs many global players."

Ends
Notes to editors:

1. TB is a disease caused by a germ usually spread in the air. It is caught from another person who has TB of the lungs when that person coughs or sneezes. TB usually affects the lungs, but can affect other parts of the body. Infection with the TB germ may not develop into TB disease. Only some people with TB in the lungs are infectious to other people and even then, you need close and prolonged contact with them to be at risk of being infected. TB disease develops slowly in the body, and it usually takes several months for symptoms to appear. Any of the following symptoms may suggest TB:

Fever and night sweats
Persistent cough
Losing weight
Blood in your sputum (phlegm or spit) at any time

2. Tuberculosis case reports and rates by region/country, UK, 2007

Region/country	Number of cases	Percentage of the total	Rate (per 100,000)
England	7742	92	15.2
Northern Ireland	65	1	3.7
Scotland	408	5	7.9
Wales	202	2	6.8
East Midlands	564	7	12.8
East of England	377	4	6.7
London	3,265	39	43.2
North East	198	2	7.7
North West	743	9	10.8
South East	714	8	8.6
South West	279	3	5.4
West Midlands	928	11	17.2
Yorkshire and the Humber	674	8	13.0

 

3. To view reports and information please go to the HPA website at: http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/tb/menu.htm

4. For further information on this press release please contact the Hugh Lamont on 0151-482-5728 or 07764-906508. For information on the national situation, please contact the Health Protection Agency's Centre for Infections press office on:

Georgina Fletcher  020 8327 6690
David Daley  020 8327 6647
Louise Brown….  020 8327 7080
Kate Swan   020 8327 7097
Alexandra Baker   020 8327 7098

 

Last reviewed: 30 October 2008