Renewed attempts to improve tuberculosis diagnosis rates

Public Health England (PHE) wants more to be done to ensure people living with the disease receive support. There were 579 case of TB in the region last year. In 2012 there were 605 diagnosed cases and in more than 60 per cent of them, patients had suffered from symptoms for over two months before the disease was identified.

On the advent of World TB Day yesterday, Dr Ebere Okereke, a consultant in communicable disease control at the PHE’s Yorkshire centre, said three million people worldwide, each year, do not get the care they need to fight the infection, adding: “This World TB Day we are working with the NHS, local authorities and community groups across Yorkshire to raise awareness about TB and improve access to treatment and support for TB patients to ensure those who start treatment complete the course.”

The organisation has published a strategy which aims to bring together best practice in clinical care, social support and public health to strengthen TB control. It includes a five-year ambition to record a sustained annual decrease in the disease.

A TB control board is proposed for West Yorkshire where more than 60 per cent of the TB cases in the whole of Yorkshire occur, specifically in Bradford, Kirklees and Leeds, and the respective local authority scrutiny panels are challenging service providers to improve their TB support.

Pulmonary TB affects the lungs and extra-pulmonary TB affects other parts of the body. The pulmonary form of the disease is infectious and is spread from person to person when someone coughs, although close and prolonged contact with someone with active lung TB is usually needed for transmission to occur.

Typical symptoms are a persistent cough, fever, night sweats, weight loss, blood in phlegm, lack of appetite and fatigue.