Reported notifications of TB in England increased by 11% in 2023
compared to the previous year.
Data published today by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
show reported notifications of
Tuberculosis (TB) in England increased by 11% in 2023
compared to the previous year.
There were 4855 notifications of the disease in 2023, compared to
4380 in 2022. However, England still remains a low incidence
country for TB, with a rate of 8.5 notifications per 100,000
population.
Notifications during 2023 were lower than this century's peak,
which was 2011 when 15.6 notifications per 100,000 population
were seen.
Overall, the increase in notifications in 2023 was seen in both
UK-born and non-UK born populations. 80% of all TB notifications
in 2023 were in people born outside the UK. The most common
countries where non-UK born TB cases came from were India,
Pakistan, Nigeria, and Romania.
Tuberculosis continues to be associated with deprivation and the
infection is more common in large urban areas. TB rates remain
highest in London, at 18.7 notifications per 100,000 people. For
those born in the UK, TB is more common among those who
experience homelessness, drug and alcohol dependence and have had
contact with the criminal justice system.
Although numbers remain low, there was an increase in
drug-resistant infections requiring longer and more complex
treatment. Of lab-confirmed TB notifications in 2023,
2.4% were multi-drug resistant. UKHSA has a Whole Genome
Sequencing diagnostics programme in place, which means that we
can diagnose drug resistance much more quickly than with
traditional methods, helping people get the most effective
treatment sooner.
Dr Esther Robinson, Head of the TB Unit at UKHSA, said:
TB is curable and preventable, but the disease remains a
serious public health issue in England.
If you have moved to England from a country where TB is more
common, please be aware of the symptoms of TB so you can get
promptly tested and treated through your GP surgery.
Not every persistent cough, along with a fever, is caused by flu
or COVID-19. A cough that usually has mucus and lasts longer than
3 weeks can be caused by a range of other issues,
including TB. Please speak to your GP if you think you could
be at risk.
TB is the world's leading cause of death from a single
infectious agent, having surpassed coronavirus (COVID-19). It is
a bacterial infection that most frequently affects the lungs,
which is when it is infectious.
The WHO estimates that 10.8 million people were ill
with TB in 2023, a 7% increase from 2020.
Symptoms of TB include:
- a cough that lasts more than 3 weeks
- high temperature
- night sweats
- loss of appetite
- weight loss
TB can also be found in other parts of the body beside the lungs,
with symptoms including swollen glands and joints. More information on the
symptoms of TB and what to do is available.
It can be treated with a long course of antibiotics but can be
serious, particularly if not treated.
UKHSA is working with partner organisations to advance TB
treatments by assessing the effectiveness of both new
therapeutics and vaccines to improve the prevention, detection,
and control of TB in England.
A TB test for infectious TB in the lungs is part of the visa
requirements for anyone coming to stay in the UK for 6 months or
more if they are coming from certain countries
where TB is common. The number of people screened before entry to
the UK doubled in 2023 to 1,059,309 compared to 2021. 505 people
were diagnosed with pulmonary TB by this process and could not
enter the UK until they had completed treatment.
However, the bacterium that causes TB can also lie dormant for
many years – something known as latent TB. To detect people with
latent TB infection, a testing and treatment programme is in
place in higher incidence areas of England for new arrivals from
higher incidence countries. There was a 98.4% rise in the number
of people tested through the NHS England Latent TB Infection
(LTBI) programme in 2023 (34, 680 people compared to 17,484 in
2022. 15.1% of people tested positive for LTBI.
