TB cases surge in latest Victorian disease to make UK comeback - urgent symptoms to know

Panicked health authorities stress we "need collective action" to tackle a staggering rise in the numbers of tuberculosis (TB) cases in England.

New data shows cases increased by 10.7 per cent in 2023 from the previous year as more than 4,500 people were diagnosed with it last year. This concerning trajectory takes the UK further away from its goal to meet World Health Organisation (WHO) 2035 elimination targets.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which published the statistics in its annual TB report, has reminded Brits a cough which usually has mucus and lasts longer than three weeks could be a tell-tale sign of TB. If you experience this, health authorities say you must visit your GP.

The largest rises in cases have been in the urban centres of London, the North West of England and West Midlands. However, there have also been increases in the South West of England and North East of England too.

Dr Esther Robinson, Head of the TB Unit at UKHSA, said: "We need collective action to tackle TB and we are working with partners across the health system to understand how we can best refocus efforts to stamp out this preventable and treatable infection. Not every persistent cough, along with a fever, is caused by flu or COVID-19. A cough that usually has mucus and lasts longer than 3 weeks can be caused by a range of other issues, including TB. Please speak to your GP if you think you could be at risk."

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TB is a bacterial infection that most frequently affects the lungs, which is when it is infectious. UKHSA is investigating reasons for the rise in cases in the past year as the increases in previous years haven't been as sharp as this, the agency conceded.

Medics have stressed symptoms can be similar to those of coronavirus, which too was a rise at the end of last year. But with TB, it is likely drenching night sweats will occur.

Full list of common symptoms

• A cough that lasts more than three weeks

• High temperature

• Night sweats

• Loss of appetite

• Weight loss

TB can be serious if left untreated but GPs can prescribe a course of antibiotics. Due largely to research and more public awareness, infection rates had been falling since 2011 but progress has stalled, UKHSA said. It added anyone experiencing the aforementioned signs must see their doctor immediately.

TB caused the deaths of an estimated four million people between 1851 and 1910. It was the scourge of the 18th and 19th centuries and featured heavily in the literature of the time, with Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Samuel Richardson among the authors writing about the disease.