Adam Ainley (pictured right) Consultant Respiratory Physician and our Clinical Lead for Tuberculosis, has written a blog for World Tuberculosis Day (Thursday 24 March).

Today is an opportunity to raise awareness of the ongoing threat from Tuberculosis (TB), an airborne bacterial infection spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person.

While incidences in England are low, with 7.3 cases per 100,000 people in 2020, both Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge had more than 20 per 100,000, around triple the national rate. This may in part be due to the diversity of these areas, factors which are associated with an increased risk from TB.

It’s a potentially serious condition; but can be cured when treated with the right antibiotics. Despite this, 1.5 million people globally died in 2020 from TB. It’s the 13^th leading cause of death in the world and, prior to Covid-19, was the leading cause of death from an infectious disease.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on access to and delivery of care, diagnosis, and surveillance of TB globally and we may not see the true impact for many years to come. Despite being airborne, it’s usually close and prolonged exposure which leads to transmission of the disease, and the use of masks during the pandemic has been positive in limiting this.

At our Trust we have a fantastic multi-disciplinary team of hard-working TB nurses, clinicians, microbiologists, and infection control practitioners to support colleagues with diagnosis and in caring for TB patients.

As we go back to normal in some respects, we need to ensure we continue to isolate suspected cases of TB appropriately to minimise risk; both to other patients and our staff; that we maintain good infection prevention control practices and send samples for testing for TB as soon as possible.

Treatment options are successful in most cases and early intervention and diagnosis are vital in ensuring this. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and other leading organisations in TB management encourage us all to be vigilant to the ongoing risk to our patients, so we can ensure they get the right care at the right time.

TB mainly affects the lungs, but can affect any part of the body, including the tummy, glands, bones, and nervous system.

Typical symptoms include:

• a persistent cough that lasts more than three weeks and usually brings up phlegm, which may be bloody
• weight loss
• night sweats
• high temperature
• tiredness and fatigue
• loss of appetite
• swellings in the neck

Find out more about tuberculosis on the NHS website.