Cases of killer TB disease on the rise

10:07am Thursday 15th March 2007

TUBERCULOSIS kills millions of people around the world - and even in North Yorkshire cases are on the rise.

The latest public health report from North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) revealed the numbers of people in the county coming down with the disease nearly doubled in five years.

In 2001, there were 1.6 cases per 100,000 people - but that had risen to 2.6 in 2005. That equated to 12 cases in 2001, which rose to 21 four years later.

The report, which covers all aspects of the county's health, including tuberculosis (TB), said the disease was a major international health concern.

"Each year, two million people die from TB, an essentially curable disease," the report said.

It said North Yorkshire still had low rates despite its rise in cases, an increase which reflected a similar trend across the country.

Nationally, cases of TB are rising fastest among communities with links to countries which have high rates of the disease, such as sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

In North Yorkshire, there were nine white Britons with TB in 2001, compared with 13 in 2005.

No Chinese people had the disease in 2001, but there were six Chinese cases four years later. Black Africans accounted for an average of one case a year, and none in 2002.

Numbers of TB cases overall were steadily dropping from 2001 to 2003, when they reached eight cases - but suddenly shot up to 20 in 2004.

Also worrying was the fact that a third of people in the county with the disease were not finishing their treatment. That proportion was higher than the national average.

Over the five-year period from 2001 to 2005, TB rates were higher in people who had not been born in Britain, than for those who were.

As reported in The Press last December, teenagers in North Yorkshire are no longer being offered a BCG jab for TB on request - unless they are deemed at risk of getting the disease.

The move was made because of new guidelines laid down by the Department of Health.

Dr Robin Ball, York's district immunisation co-ordinator, told The Press when the change to the BCG vaccine was brought in that it was not "very effective".

He said: "If you come into contact with a case of TB, it's easier to find out if you've been infected if you haven't had the BCG."

The PCT report recommended a strategy be drawn up to control TB, and that more services should be "discreetly" provided.

Tuberculosis factfile

What is TB?
It is an infection caused by a germ called the tubercle bacillus or Mycobaceterium tuberculosis. It can affect the lungs or other parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, skin and bones.

What symptoms should you look out for?
Fever, fatigue, loss of appetite and weight, night sweats and a persistent cough. You may cough up blood. Meningitis can be a complication.

How do you get it?
Pulmonary (lung) tuberculosis is generally caught from someone else coughing and sneezing the tubercle bacilli. It may also be caught from infected cow's milk in countries where milk is not pasteurised.

How do you treat it?
It is treated with antibiotics for at least six months. The course must be completed if it is to be effective. Drug-resistant TB strains have become more prevalent within the last decade.

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