Appeal for vigilance as North West TB figures increase again

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There was a small increase in the incidence of TB in the North West in 2011 with 823 new cases reported compared to 813 in 2010 and 802 in 2009. The trend has been steadily upwards since 626 new cases were reported in 2000, but the rate of increase has slowed in the last two years.

The data are published today in the Health Protection Agency’s annual TB report.

On a positive note, 85.9% of the region’s TB patients (657) completed their treatment in 2011, continuing the upward trend seen in recent years.

The North West TB Prevention and Control Strategy is coordinated by the Regional TB Summit, which was established in January 2011 to tackle the increasing numbers of people being infected with TB.

The Summit brings together clinicians, commissioners and public health experts to identify the key actions that need to be taken to reverse this trend. One of the key successes of the summit in the last 12 months has been the introduction of a method of auditing the quality of the management of TB patients and their contacts, known as “cohort review” across all TB services within the Region. Cohort Review is recommended by NICE (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence) as a key measure for successfully controlling TB.

Dr. Marko Petrovic, HPA North West’s TB lead, said: “We continue to see a slow increase in the incidence of TB across the North West, but we are confident that the strategies we have put in place to address this rise are delivering improvements in TB control.

“Our key messages are that all health professionals should remain vigilant for TB. The public should also be aware of TB and its symptoms and should seek advice if they suspect that they may have the infection. Patients who are already on treatment need to complete their treatment. That is important and it is encouraging that treatment completion rates have again increased. Failure to complete the entire course of treatment can result in the development of drug-resistant TB or recurrence of the disease.”

Professor Ibrahim Abubakar, Head of TB surveillance at the HPA said: “TB continues to disproportionately affect those in hard to reach and vulnerable groups, particularly migrants. In order to reduce TB cases in the future, it’s very important for health commissioners, especially in parts of the country with the highest rates of TB, to prioritise the delivery of clinical and public health TB services.

“In addition, the HPA is recommending that local commissioners ensure that they coordinate their TB control activities so that completion of treatment can be ensured wherever a patient is located. The message that not completing the full course of treatment can encourage drug resistance is an important one.”