not effective<\/strong><\/a> for adults.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/logo-euronews-grey-6-180x22.svg.svg+xml\")
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Most new cases in England have been among immigrants who may have been infected years before their arrival.<\/p>\n
But for the second year in a row, TB cases are also on the rise in England among those born in the UK after they\u2019d fallen every year since 2012. Infections are also up in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
The uptick in cases is likely due in part to disruptions in medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning a backlog of TB infections is only now being detected.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a big enough increase that these delays are likely only part of the story.<\/p>\n
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TB risks are higher among people who are homeless, living in crowded settings, currently or formerly imprisoned, have a history of drug or alcohol misuse, or are grappling with undernutrition.<\/p>\n
As of late 2024, just 13.1 per cent of England\u2019s TB patients aged 15 or older reported at least one social risk factor \u2013 but with data missing, it\u2019s likely an undercount.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know pretty well from the figures where the rises are coming from. The why is still a bit of a mystery,\u201d Paul Sommerfield, executive trustee of TB Alert, a non-profit focused on TB in the UK and India, told Euronews Health.<\/p>\n
How to combat TB<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) asked experts to weigh in on an updated 5-year action plan to better prevent, detect, and control TB in England.<\/p>\n
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The current plan aimed to curb delays in diagnosis like the one Madhvani faced, have most patients finish their treatment, do more testing for TB, and ensure health workers can spot the signs of TB.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s still unclear whether enough money will be attached to the new plan, particularly for efforts to raise awareness in high-risk communities about symptoms and how to access medical care, Sommerfield said.<\/p>\n
The UKHSA declined to answer questions about the new plan\u2019s priorities or budget.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued to Euronews Health, Dr Esther Robinson, head of the agency\u2019s TB unit, called the disease a \u201cserious public health issue\u201d and urged people to get tested if they have symptoms, including a persistent, mucus-ridden cough.<\/p>\n
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Wingfield has some ideas for the plan. He wants more screenings for new immigrants at risk of TB, given few eligible people are actually tested, and suggested that employers who recruit from overseas could help fund the programme.<\/p>\n
He also wants the government to collect more information on TB patients\u2019 social and financial problems, so they can be connected to housing, food banks, and other services.<\/p>\n
Many TB doctors in the UK \u201chave given money from out of their pocket to somebody that they’ve looked after to get food, to pay for a bus\u2026 or because they’re just in a dire situation,\u201d Wingfield said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Madhvani pointed to gaps in mental health support for TB patients, particularly once they wrap up treatment.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI don’t think that the system understands how frightening it is and how lonely it is, especially when you finish treatment and then you’re just spat out into the world. There\u2019s no more follow-up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Identifying TB early to make treatment easier<\/p>\n
One bright spot is that few UK patients have forms of TB that are resistant to drugs, which can make it harder and more expensive to treat.<\/p>\n
Drug resistance poses a bigger problem in countries where people struggle to access medical care or stop treatment early. The drugs cause sometimes painful side effects, and people are supposed to take them every day for four to nine months.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a fairly good system for dealing with TB, but it’s a matter of finding people soon enough to treat them properly,\u201d Sommerfield said.<\/p>\n
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Some people who are infected with TB never go on to develop the disease. But rooting out infections early is critical for patients like Madhvani.<\/p>\n
She doesn\u2019t know how she got TB. But before her diagnosis, she unknowingly infected her partner, friends, family members, and colleagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most didn\u2019t go on to develop the disease, but her mother did, and she is still struggling with health complications seven years later.<\/p>\n
Another person Madhvani infected had latent TB, but no disease yet. Doctors put him on medication to stave off illness, but he stopped taking it early.<\/p>\n
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Years later, \u201che sent me a photo of him in hospital, emaciated\u2026 and he looked more unwell than I ever was,\u201d Madhvani said. Her gut reaction was anger that he hadn\u2019t taken TB seriously enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t think people understand what it will do to you if you don’t get it sorted,\u201d she said. \u201cIt doesn’t matter how wealthy you are, whether you’ve travelled or not travelled. If you come into contact with it, you’re at risk\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ADVERTISEMENT Anja Madhvani was already sick when she ran out of water in the middle of the desert.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[748,20674,393,4884,20675,1144,1093,712,20676,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-35808","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-contagious-disease","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-infection","14":"tag-northern-ireland","15":"tag-public-health","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-tuberculosis","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom","20":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114370794702611239","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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