Doctors say rising cases are a serious cause for concern
TB rates are on the rise(Image: Getty Images)
Cases of a Victorian superbug are soaring amid record levels of a worrying drug-resistant strain.
Figures released by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show there were 5,490 notifications of tuberculosis (TB) in England in 2024, with a Midlands city named as the main hotspot area of concern.
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.
READ MORE: Thousands of Midlands M6 drivers fined for doing under 70mph
Health experts say TB “remains a serious public health issue”.
Leicester has had highest average cases over the last three years, latest data shows.
In the three years to 2024, Leicester had an annual average of 161 TB notifications. That equates to a rate of 42.1 TB notifications per 100,000 people, the highest in England.
Wolverhampton is another area of concern, 12th on the list of local authority areas with a rate of 22.3.
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.
The UKHSA has already warned that if the trend of rising cases is not reversed, the UK could lose its “low-incidence” status for TB, which it has held since 2017.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) classifies countries with a threshold of 10 TB cases per 100,000 people as low-incidence.
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’s peak of 15.6 notifications per 100,000 in 2011.
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.
Dr Esther Robinson, Head of the TB Unit at UKHSA, said: “TB is preventable and curable but, with rates increasing, it remains a serious public health issue.
“We must act fast to break transmission chains through rapid identification and treatment.
“It’s 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 – particularly if you have recently moved from a country where TB is more common.”