{"id":62341,"date":"2015-10-01T08:30:36","date_gmt":"2015-10-01T08:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=ca59a59ecb31eb8730817188768fd729"},"modified":"2015-10-01T08:30:36","modified_gmt":"2015-10-01T08:30:36","slug":"press-release-tb-rates-in-england-continue-to-decline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=62341","title":{"rendered":"Press release: TB rates in England continue to decline"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The figures are published today (1 October, 2015) in the Public Health England (PHE<\/abbr>) annual TB<\/abbr> in England report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Latest figures give an incidence of 12.0 cases per every 100,000 people in England, down from the peak of 15.6 per 100,000 in 2011.<\/p>\n

As in previous years, London accounted for the highest proportion of cases in England, with 2,572 cases of TB<\/abbr> in 2014, down from 2,965 cases in 2013.<\/p>\n

These are very welcome reductions in TB<\/abbr> cases and continue the downward trend of the last 2 years. The reductions are mainly due to a reduction in cases in the non-UK born population, which make up nearly three-quarters of all TB<\/abbr> cases in England. Whilst there has not yet been a similar reduction in the rate of TB<\/abbr> in those born in the UK, in January 2015 PHE<\/abbr> and NHS England committed to implement a collaborative TB<\/abbr> strategy, which includes the key actions required to achieve a year on year reduction in all aspects of TB<\/abbr> in England and a reduction in the inequalities associated with the disease.<\/p>\n

Professor Paul Cosford, Director for Health Protection and Medical Director for PHE<\/abbr> said: <\/p>\n

\n

This is the third year in a row that we have seen a reduction in the number of TB<\/abbr> cases in England, which is excellent news. This decrease is likely due to a number of factors, including changes in migration patterns, and the impact of pre-entry screening, in addition to interventions to improve the control of TB<\/abbr>, both in England and abroad.<\/p>\n

TB<\/abbr> remains one of the key priorities for PHE<\/abbr>, and we are working with key partners to oversee the development of a stronger national approach to TB<\/abbr> control.<\/p>\n

In January we launched a comprehensive collaborative TB<\/abbr> strategy focused on supporting and strengthening local services, especially in areas of high incidence, and the implementation of systematic testing and treatment of individuals who may have latent TB<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

Migrants on visas with a duration of 6 months or longer who are from countries with high rates of TB<\/abbr> continue to be screened for active TB<\/abbr> before they enter the UK.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Dr Lucy Thomas, Head of TB<\/abbr> Surveillance for PHE<\/abbr>, said: <\/p>\n

\n

The recent decrease in TB<\/abbr> cases is very welcome, although TB<\/abbr> rates in England still remain among the highest in Western Europe. To achieve further reductions in TB<\/abbr> in England we will build upon existing achievements through the sustained and co-ordinated action of all key stakeholders, as set out in the collaborative TB<\/abbr> strategy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Background information<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Read the PHE<\/abbr> Tuberculosis in England report (2015)<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. \nTB<\/abbr> is a disease caused by a bacterium (bug). When someone with active lung TB<\/abbr> coughs, sneezes or spits, TB<\/abbr> germs may be propelled into the air. TB<\/abbr> is not very easy to catch \u2013 usually you need close and prolonged contact to a person with active TB<\/abbr> in the lungs.<\/li>\n
  3. In England, most TB<\/abbr> cases occur amongst specific risk groups, such as people with close links to countries with a high TB<\/abbr> burden (often settled migrants from such countries, who experience reactivation of latent TB<\/abbr> infection acquired many years previously), people with social risk factors such as homelessness, a history of imprisonment or problem drug or alcohol use, and older people.<\/li>\n
  4. While the majority of TB<\/abbr> cases are due to reactivation of infection, recent transmission still occurs in England.<\/li>\n
  5. Public Health England exists to protect and improve the nation\u2019s health and wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities. It does this through world-class science, knowledge and intelligence, advocacy, partnerships and the delivery of specialist public health services. PHE<\/abbr> is an operationally autonomous executive agency of the Department of Health. Website: www.gov.uk\/phe<\/a>. Twitter: @PHE_uk<\/a>, Facebook: www.facebook.com\/PublicHealthEngland<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n
    \n

    Public Health England press office<\/h3>\n
    \n
    \n

    \n Email<\/span>
    \n     phe-pressoffice@phe.gov.uk<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

    \n Telephone<\/span>
    \n 020 7654 8400\n <\/p>\n

    \n Out of hours telephone<\/span>
    \n 020 8200 4400\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A total of 6,520 cases of TB were notified in England in 2014, a decrease on the 7,257 cases reported in 2013.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62341"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62341\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}