New TB report shows continuing decline in cases in England
New 2015 data shows evidence of positive start to the early implementation of the TB Strategy with cases down by a third since 2011 peak.
The annual TB report, published today (27 September 2016), describes the recent epidemiology of TB in England since the launch of the Collaborative TB Strategy in January 2015.
It presents new data to the end of 2015 and provides an update on trends and the impact of TB at a national and local level.
Overall the data shows there has been a year on year decline in the incidence of TB in England over the past 4 years, down to 10.5 cases per 100,000 (5,758 cases) in 2015, a reduction of one third since the peak of 15.6 cases per 100,000 (8,280) in 2011.
The reduction in the number of cases has occurred in both the non-UK born and UK born population and in all regions of the country, with the decline in non-UK born cases occurring particularly among new migrants.
This year’s annual report provides evidence of a very positive start to the early implementation of the TB Strategy for England, however, there is much still to do. Despite the reduction in overall TB cases, the number of cases with social risk factors (homelessness, drug or alcohol misuse or imprisonment) has not declined but the proportion has slightly increased by 2% in the past year.
The data is used to inform recommendations on the ongoing implementation of the PHE and NHS England 5 year Strategy 2015 to 2020.