TB care changes issued as cases increase

The Health Protection Agency's laboratories have introduced technology to enable better identification of the different strains of bacteria that cause tuberculosis, as figures show that cases of the infection are continuing to rise.

TB has been increasing in the UK since the late 1980s, with 7,167 cases reported in 2004, compared to 6,837 in 2003.

Living in poverty increases a person's risk of developing the infection, although most of those who develop the disease tend to be born in countries where the disease is endemic.

The new technology introduced by the HPA uses genetic fingerprinting to identify different strains of the TB bacteria, which will help investigate outbreaks by recognising and comparing different strains of the disease and finding common links between cases of TB.

Professor Borriello, Director of the Health Protection's Agency for Infections, which leads the Agency's TB Programme, said: "This technology, when combined with our surveillance systems at both national and regional levels will enable us to quickly identify if cases of TB are part of the same outbreak. All the information from our network of laboratories will then be submitted to a national database that enables samples from across the country to be compared."

Professor Borriello said that the devolved administrations would be involved, enabling the strains to be tracked across the whole UK.

The announcement comes ahead of World TB Day on March 24.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has also issued new guidance on treating TB.

The guidance calls for the provision of more screening and better support for patients, in order to help them complete courses of treatment. It also suggests that homeless people should be screened for TB if they show symptoms or contact the health services for other reasons.

The guidance also support's the government's proposal in the TB Action Plan for England, which suggested that babies born in areas with a high incidence of TB should be vaccinated against the disease.

TB Alert, The British Thoracic Society and The British Lung Foundation have welcomed the new NICE guidance. TB Alert's Chair of Trustees, Paul Sommerfeld, said: "TB Alert welcomes the fact that NICE has given the issue of TB serious consideration. It is a major health issue both globally and in the UK. We hope the NHS will allocate the resources required to bring TB numbers in this country down - by applying the NICE guidelines as well as recommendations arising from the Department of Health's own working groups on implementation of the National Action Plan for Stopping Tuberculosis in England."

(KMcA/GB)