Health experts say that the disease, which had been virtually wiped out in the UK, is now ‘a major public health issue’ in the capital.
London, where the number of cases rose by 50 per cent between 1999 and 2009, now has the highest TB rate of any capital city in western Europe. Almost four in ten cases of TB in the UK are found in London. Other areas with a high number of cases include Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow and Leicester.
Currently BCG vaccinations are not routinely given as part of the childhood vaccination schedule, unless a baby is thought to have a higher than normal risk of coming into contact with TB.
The plan recommends that from next year the BCG jab – currently only given to newborns in boroughs which have a TB rate of 40 or more per 100,000 people – should be extended to all babies in the capital, who should be vaccinated within six weeks of birth.
The BCG jab used to be given to all school children but was discontinued in 2005.
The draft TB plan by London Health Programmes aims to reduce the rate of TB in London by half over the next ten years by:
- improving early detection of the disease
- improving the effectiveness of treatment
- reducing the risk of transmission
It also recommends that to co-ordinate the response against the disease, a new London TB Commissioning Board should be set up.
The report said, ‘There is a particularly heavy burden of disease among people who are not born in the UK – this group accounts for 84 per cent of TB cases in London.’
Most cases of TB are in communities with links to Africa and Asia, but homeless people, drug users, and people with HIV are all at high risk of catching the disease.
TB is curable if treated early and at £2,000 is relatively inexpensive to treat but the cost can rise to £50,000 in more complex or drug resistant cases, the report said. More than 12 per cent of cases in London – nearly 400 cases – are considered complex.
Onn Min Kon, a consultant at St Mary’s Hospital, West London and clinical adviser for the London TB plan, told The Times, ‘The risk is low but in London there are some bits where you could call [TB] endemic. Rates in some boroughs are higher than parts of the Indian subcontinent.
All of us [specialists] will have plenty of examples of people who are theoretically low risk, but have TB.’
TB: The facts
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection. It is spread through inhaling tiny droplets of saliva from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person.
TB mainly affects the lungs. But the infection can spread to many parts of the body, including the bones and nervous system.
Typical symptoms include:
- a persistent cough
- weight loss
- night sweats
The BCG vaccine provides effective protection against TB in up to 8 out of 10 of people.
In 2009, 9,040 cases of TB were reported in the UK. Most of these occurred in urban areas, with more than one-third of cases in London.
Around the world, TB remains a major public health problem. There were 9.4 million new cases of TB in 2009, and 1.7 million deaths from the condition.
