Public Health England (PHE) has reported a decrease in the number of TB cases in the UK in 2013, with 7,892 reported cases compared with 8,729 in 2012. Figures were published last week in PHE’s annual TB in the UK Report. Despite this decrease, the UK still has one of the highest rates of TB in Western Europe, with an incidence of 12.3 cases per 100,000 people.
TB Alert Chief Executive Mike Mandelbaum says: “It is good to see TB rates fall in 2013 – hopefully this will be the beginning of a pattern of year-on-year reductions. If everyone works together – government, health and public health services, local authorities, charities and community organisations – we could halve rates over the next ten years and bring the UK’s levels of TB into line with comparable countries. That is the kind of target that TB Alert is committed to advocating for and helping deliver.
Once again, London accounted for the highest proportion of cases, with 38% of total cases found in the city. TB continued to be concentrated among the most deprived communities, and one in 10 patients had some kind of social risk factor for TB, such as a history of homelessness, imprisonment or alcohol or drug misuse.
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