Rise in North East tuberculosis cases

RARE DISEASE MOUNTS UK COMEBACK AS REGION SEES 50% INCREASE

- By SAM VOLPE

TUBERCULOSIS cases in the North East rose more than 50% in the most recent year for which figures are available. The UK Health Security Agency has revealed there were 112 cases across the region in 2023.

That's a rise of 38 compared to 2022 - reflecting a national trend that has seen a disease often associated with the Victorian era rebound in recent years. Even while cases have increased in the North East, the rate remains half that seen in England as a whole - 4.1 per 100,000 people compared to 8.4.

However, 2023 saw more than 100 cases reported in the North East for the first time in years. The UKHSA said: “The North East remains a low area of tuberculosis (TB) incidence with consistently lower rates of TB than England overall. In 2023, 112 people resident in the North East were notified with TB to the UKHSA National Tuberculosis Surveillance (NTBS) system.