{"id":200067,"date":"2025-10-09T12:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T12:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/200067\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T12:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T12:08:09","slug":"tb-rates-in-england-continue-to-increase-in-2024-uk-health-security-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/200067\/","title":{"rendered":"TB rates in England continue to increase in 2024 | UK Health Security Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuberculosis (TB) levels in England increased by 13.6% in 2024 compared to the previous year,\u00a0data published today<\/a>\u00a0by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows.<\/p>\n

There were 5,490 notifications of the disease in 2024, compared to 4,831 in 2023.<\/p>\n

Although rates have continued to increase, the risk to the general population in England from\u00a0TB\u00a0remains low.\u00a0TB\u00a0is preventable and curable, with 84.4% of patients completing treatment within 12 months.<\/p>\n

A cough that usually has mucus and lasts longer than 3 weeks can be caused by a range of other issues, including\u00a0TB. Please speak to your GP if you think you could be at risk.<\/p>\n

England now has a rate of 9.4 notifications per 100,000 population, which remains below this century\u2019s peak of 15.6 notifications per 100,000 population in 2011.<\/p>\n

82% of\u00a0TB\u00a0notifications in 2024 were in people born outside the UK but there was an increase in both UK-born and non UK-born populations.<\/p>\n

The increase reflects global patterns, with many countries experiencing increasing\u00a0TB\u00a0rates in recent years.<\/p>\n

TB\u00a0continues to be associated with deprivation and the infection is more common in large urban areas. In line with longstanding trends, London recorded the highest regional rate at 20.6 per 100,000, followed by the West Midlands at 11.5 per 100,000.<\/p>\n

For those born in the UK,\u00a0TB\u00a0is more common among those who experience homelessness, drug and alcohol dependence and have had contact with the criminal justice system.<\/p>\n

Although numbers remain relatively low, drug-resistant\u00a0TB\u00a0also reached the highest levels since enhanced surveillance began in 2012. Of laboratory-confirmed notifications, 2.2% showed resistance to multiple drugs. This type of\u00a0TB\u00a0requires longer and more complex treatment, placing additional burdens on health services.<\/p>\n

Dr Esther Robinson, Head of the\u00a0TB\u00a0Unit at\u00a0UKHSA, said:<\/p>\n

TB\u00a0is preventable and curable but, with rates increasing, it remains a serious public health issue.<\/p>\n

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

It\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\u00a0TB. Please speak to your GP if you think you could be at risk \u2013 particularly if you have recently moved from a country where\u00a0TB\u00a0is more common.<\/p>\n

The government remains committed to improving the prevention, detection, and control of\u00a0TB\u00a0in England by prioritising the most effective interventions, focusing on those most affected, and addressing health inequalities.<\/p>\n

Today\u00a0UKHSA\u00a0has also published evidence from experts and stakeholders to inform the development of the new\u00a0TB\u00a0National Action Plan (2026 to 2031)<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tuberculosis (TB) levels in England increased by 13.6% in 2024 compared to the previous year,\u00a0data published today\u00a0by the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[4799,10765,49,48,16194,588,98708,12360,14396,84,4472,24419,47,13257,24358,98707,98709,37497,2532,52924,3585,98706],"class_list":["post-200067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-action","tag-agency","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-covid","tag-england","tag-esther","tag-gp","tag-head","tag-health","tag-london","tag-midlands","tag-national","tag-october","tag-plan","tag-please","tag-printable","tag-robinson","tag-security","tag-tb","tag-uk","tag-ukhsa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}