TB – it’s back
This year school children in Leicester and London have been affected and now three and four year olds attending a nursery school in southwest London have also contracted TB. We’re experiencing the worst cluster of tuberculosis cases since 1963, and the disease seems to be staging a comeback. Last year, over 7000 people contracted TB in the UK.
This trend is reflected worldwide. There are now more confirmed cases of TB than there were in 1950 and the most worrying feature of the current outbreak is the emergence of a drug-resistant form that’s extremely difficult to treat. Of course, tuberculosis was rife in the 19th century, causing up to 25% of deaths in Europe, but the death toll began to fall as living standards improved and by the 1940’s effective medicines were developed. In fact, two years ago, when supplies of the vaccine became scarce, routine vaccination was stopped.
What is the disease?
First and foremost, TB is a disease of the lungs. It’s an infection by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which can spread via the blood to all organs of the body. This means that TB can develop in the outer linings of the lungs, in the bones, the urinary tract and sexual organs, the intestines and even the skin.
There are several forms of TB:
Young children usually contract primary pulmonary tuberculosis (first tuberculosis infection in the lungs), which often clears over a six to ten week period as a child develops immunity. But in some cases, it can progress and spread all over the lungs (progressive TB) or to other organs. Another type of infection is called reactivation tuberculosis. After the primary infection has passed, the bacteria can remain dormant. When conditions become favourable, the bacteria become active – this may be years later. This is how older children and adults often develop the disease.
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