Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a type of bacterium called Mycobacterium. There are different species of Mycobacterium, but the one which causes most cases of TB in humans is called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB is often thought of as an ‘old’ infectious disease that does not affect people in the UK any longer. However, it has been on the increase in some areas of the UK since 1990, mainly in big cities, and particularly London. 5,100 cases were reported in England in 2017. There has been a 38% fall in TB cases in England since 2012, but the country still has one of the highest rates of TB in Western Europe. See the Public Health England report on TB for 2000 - 2017 Groups most at risk are young adults, people from countries where there are high rates of TB (more than 40 cases of TB per year for every 100,000 people), and people with social risk factors (such as homelessness, alcohol misuse or being in prison). If TB is not treated it can be fatal, even in people with no other health issues. Around 350 people a year in the UK die from TB-related causes. The most severe forms of the disease are more likely to affect children. TB usually affects the lungs, but it can affect almost any part of the body including bones and the nervous system. It can be treated by a long course of antibiotics, but TB that is resistant to antibiotics is becoming more common. Worldwide, TB is the main cause of death among infectious diseases that can be cured and prevented. It is a leading killer of people living with HIV and causes one in five of all deaths in this group. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, in 2017, 10 million people fell ill with TB and 1.6 million of these people died (including 300,000 people who were HIV-positive). WHO also estimates that about a quarter of the world’s population has latent TB (where the TB bacteria remain in the body but the disease is not active). In 1993 WHO declared TB a global emergency, and its goal is to end the TB epidemic by 2030. |