30-year high in TB ‘is caused by immigration’
IMMIGRATION is responsible for a 30- year high in the number of cases of tuberculosis in the UK, the Government said yesterday.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said that under his reforms, local councils would play a major role in dealing with the problem, which is concentrated in the country’s major cities.
There were 8,286 cases of TB in England last year, up 4.3 per cent on 2008, he told the Commons.
Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and London were particularly affected by the contagious lung disease, spread by sneezing and coughing. The disease often takes months or even years to show symptoms but left untreated can be fatal.
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“The rise has occurred mainly in people infected in countries where TB is common who go on to develop active TB later in life,” he said.
He welcomed the Health Protection Agency’s report on TB.
Councils working as public health authorities would be better placed to prevent outbreaks.
The Government was funding a charity called TB Alert to raise awareness of the problem among health care professionals in London, he added.
