REDBRIDGE: Health trust leading TB fight

10:21am Thursday 2nd December 2010

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HEALTH bosses in Redbridge have taken action against a resurgence of tuberculosis (TB) in the capital.

Last year 3,376 new cases of TB were reported in London and Londoners now account for the largest number of cases in the UK making up 39 per cent of the country’s total last year.

In Redbridge, the caseload has risen from 58 in 2000 to 159 in 2008.

Gladys Xavier, deputy director of public health for NHS Redbridge, said: “The figures are relatively low but we can’t be complacent, despite meeting London’s TB standards of care.

“The biggest obstacle we face is educating people about the facts and reassuring them that TB is completely treatable.

“There is still a stigma attached to the name.”

According to Redbridge PCT, the prevalence of TB in east London is largely due to the area’s large Asian community who are most susceptible to the infection – with 81.9 per cent of carriers not born in the UK.

Redbridge PCT has invested in a TB service which fast-tracks patients with symptoms through diagnosis and treatment.

A full course of medication takes six months.

the trust has taken on two more caseworkers to work in the community, alongside a dedicated hospital team, offering outreach work, screening, education, TB clinics and home visits.

TB is a bacterial infection which usually affects the lungs but can affect almost any part of the body.

it can be spread when someone with the infection coughs and another person breathes in the bacteria.

however, prolonged contact with the person is usually needed, and most cases can be successfully treated with antibiotics.

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