More than a dozen cases of TB diagnosed in Bedford

More than a dozen people were diagnosed with tuberculosis in Bedford on average last year, new figures show.

TB Alert, the UK's national charity for the disease which primarily affects the lungs, said it is "worrying" that the number of cases across England rose.

It also said that people who have TB, or have suffered lasting effects from it, may be at increased risk from coronavirus.

Public Health England (PHE) figures show there were 15 cases of TB on average annually in Bedford between 2017 and 2019.

This was the same number as were diagnosed each year between 2016 and 2018.

This was in contrast to the rest of England, where the number of cases of tuberculosis rose by 2 per cent to 4,725 last year – ending seven successive years of falling numbers.

The disease is curable using antibiotics but can be fatal if left untreated.

TB Alert said it is responsible for more deaths than any other infection worldwide, and called for PHE's national TB action plan for 2020-25 to be launched as soon as possible.

Like Covid-19, tuberculosis is an airborne disease that can be passed on by inhaling tiny droplets from an infected person's coughs and sneezes.

But it does not spread as easily as the cold or the flu, with prolonged periods of close contact with an infected person needed to catch it – and not everyone with TB is infectious.

Mike Mandelbaum, chief executive of TB Alert, said: "TB can affect nearly any part of the body but most often it affects people’s lungs, which is also the organ attacked by Covid-19.

"If people have TB or have been cured of it but left with damaged lungs, they may be at increased risk from Covid-19.

"They should ensure that any doctor treating or advising them knows their full medical history."

In Bedford, the rate of TB was 8.5 cases for every 100,000 people – compared to 8.4 across the whole of England.

A PHE spokesman said England has surpassed the World Health Organisation's targets to reduce TB rates to 10 per 100,000 and is progressing towards the "pre-elimination stage", defined as 10 cases per million.