TB threat growing - experts

Monday March 22nd, 2010

Both Britain and the world face growing threats from TB, experts have warned.

Wednesday is World TB Day and British experts have warned many services in the UK are ill-prepared for the threats from the disease.

New figures from the UK Health Protection Agency show rates of TB increasing in most regions of the country - with London and the West Midlands continuing to have the highest rates.

Meanwhile the World Health Organisation is warning of the threat of drug-resistant TB. In some countries, as many as 25 per cent of patients contract a disease which cannot be treated with a range of drugs, it says.

The Health Protection Agency figures show 9,153 cases of TB reported in the UK last year.

This was an increase of some 5.5 per cent on 2008, when 8,679 cases were reported.

Of these cases, some 3,476 were in London and 1,035 in the West Midlands region.

Professor Maria Zambon, of the HPA Centre for Infections, warned: "Although some progress is being made, the consistent increase in the number of cases of TB in the UK means our efforts to control the disease must be strengthened.

"Both health professionals and the general public alike must remain vigilant if we are to eradicate this major global killer infection."

The British Thoracic Society warned in December that many districts of England were ill-prepared to tackle outbreaks of TB. It said this included 20 per cent of primary care trusts in the worst-affected areas.

In total it found that 60 per cent of PCTS had no TB strategy. And it found not a single PCT had consulted the most high risk communities about what action to take.

Just 40 per cent planned for long-term isolation facilities.

Dr Marc Lipman, chair of the British Thoracic Society's Specialist Advisory Group on TB, said last night: "This new data further strengthens the need for national standards for TB care and prevention."

The World Health Organisation has released a report on multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in advance of World TB Day. This form of TB is resistant to the two most effective drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin and is expensive to treat.

Almost half of the identified cases have been in China and India - but WHO has also identified high rates in parts of Russia - and growing numbers of cases in Africa.

WHO said governments could reduced the rate of drug-resistant TB by following its advice and strengthening efforts to control the disease. This has happened in the USA and in Hong Kong in China.

A spokesman said: "Worldwide, of those patients receiving treatment, 60 per cent were reported as cured. However, only an estimated seven per cent of all MDR-TB patients are diagnosed.

"This points to the urgent need for improvements in laboratory facilities, access to rapid diagnosis and treatment with more effective drugs and regimens shorter than the current two years."

Tags: General Health | Pharmaceuticals | UK News | World Health

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