{"id":524182,"date":"2025-10-24T07:38:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T07:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/524182\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T07:38:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T07:38:15","slug":"victorian-superbug-returns-as-drug-resistant-strain-rises-across-much-of-gloucestershire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/524182\/","title":{"rendered":"Victorian superbug returns as drug-resistant strain rises across much of Gloucestershire"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Cheltenham, the notification rate almost doubled\"Sick,In Gloucestershire, rates are well below the national average, but the latest figures show rates are rising in Gloucester, Cheltenham, and Forest of Dean. (stock image)(Image: Jacob Wackerhausen via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Cases of a Victorian superbug are rising across much of Gloucestershire as medics identify record levels of a worrying drug-resistant strain.<\/p>\n

Figures released by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show there were 5,490 notifications of tuberculosis<\/a> (TB) in England in 2024.<\/p>\n

That was a 13% increase – or more than 600 additional cases – from 4,831 notifications in 2023, which was itself 11% higher than in 2023.<\/p>\n

The proportion of drug-resistant TB reached its highest level since enhanced surveillance began in 2012. Of all laboratory-confirmed cases, 2.2% showed resistance to multiple drugs.<\/p>\n

The UKHSA has already warned that if the trend of rising cases is not reversed, the UK could lose its \u201clow-incidence\u201d status for TB, which it has held since 2017.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organisation (WHO) classifies countries with a threshold of 10 TB cases per 100,000 people as low-incidence.<\/p>\n

\"TuberculosisTuberculosis cases are on the rise(Image: Getty Images\/iStockphoto)<\/p>\n

England now has a rate of 9.4 notifications per 100,000 people, just below the low-incidence threshold and up from 8.5 per 100,000 people in 2023. However, that is still well below this century\u2019s peak of 15.6 notifications per 100,000 in 2011.<\/p>\n

In Gloucestershire, rates are well below the national average, but the latest figures show rates are rising in Gloucester, Cheltenham, and Forest of Dean.<\/p>\n

In the three years to 2024, Gloucester had an annual average of nine TB notifications. That equates to a rate of 6.6 TB notifications per 100,000 people, the highest in our area.<\/p>\n

That is also up from an average rate of 5.0 notifications per 100,000 people in the three years to 2023.<\/p>\n

In Cheltenham, the TB notification rate almost doubled, from 2.2 to 4.1, and in Forest of Dean it rose from 1.5 to 1.9.<\/p>\n

However, rates dropped in Cotswold (from 2.9 to 2.5) and Tewkesbury (from 2.4 to 1.3), while they remained stable in Stroud (2.7).<\/p>\n

You can see how it compares to where you live using our interactive map.<\/p>\n

TB – which used to be known as \u201cconsumption\u201d – caused the deaths of an estimated four million people between 1851 and 1910 in England and Wales. It was the scourge of the 18th and 19th centuries and featured heavily in the literature of the time, with authors Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Samuel Richardson all referencing the disease.<\/p>\n

Worldwide, TB killed an estimated 1.25 million people in 2023, making it the leading infectious disease killer in the world, surpassing COVID-19. Final figures for 2024 are not yet available, but it is predicted that a similar number of people died of TB.<\/p>\n

In England last year, 82% of TB notifications were in people born outside the UK, but there was an increase in both UK-born and non UK-born populations.<\/p>\n

TB continues to be associated with deprivation, and the infection is more common in large urban areas.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"TuberculosisTuberculosis Bacteria. The Victorian era disease is rising in England, scientists say(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

Dr Esther Robinson, Head of the TB Unit at UKHSA, said: \u201cTB is preventable and curable but, with rates increasing, it remains a serious public health issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must act fast to break transmission chains through rapid identification and treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to remember that 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 \u2013 particularly if you have recently moved from a country where TB is more common.\u201d<\/p>\n

TB is a serious long-term condition, but it is now curable. It usually affects the lungs but can spread to other parts of the body, such as your glands, bones, and brain.<\/p>\n

Symptoms include a chronic cough, fever, chills, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, and coughing up blood.<\/p>\n

See a GP if you\u2019ve had a cough for more than three weeks if you\u2019re tired and not sure why, have a high temperature or night sweats that don\u2019t go away, or have lost weight without changing your diet or exercise routine, or if you\u2019ve spent a lot of time with someone who has TB.<\/p>\n

Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you cough up blood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Cheltenham, the notification rate almost doubledIn Gloucestershire, rates are well below the national average, but the latest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524183,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[110690,110692,5014,12028,105,211,110688,110689,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-524182","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-cheltenham","9":"tag-forest-of-dean","10":"tag-gloucester","11":"tag-gloucestershire","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-nhs","14":"tag-stroud","15":"tag-tewkesbury","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115428007385818701","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524182","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=524182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/524183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=524182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=524182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=524182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}