Drug resistant TB spreading in Britain

A new study has revealed that drug-resistant tuberculosis is spreading in Britain.

The researchers studied 28,620 confirmed cases of TB between 1998 and 2005 and found that the proportion of drug resistant forms of the virus increased to 7.9 per cent form 5.6 per cent over the time period.

Official figures show the number of infections resistant to at least one major drug rose from 170 in 1998 to 336 in 2005.

Dr Michelle Kruijshaar, a researcher at the health protection agency, wrote in the British Medical Journal: "These findings highlight the importance of early case detection, rapid testing of susceptibility to drugs and improved complete treatment."

The study estimates that there were more than 8,000 cases of TB reported in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2006 and highlighted the concerns of the increasing transmission of drug resistant TB in urban areas such as London.

World Health Organisation figures estimate that around 1.5 million people died from TB worldwide in 2006 and through its Stop TB strategy it aims to halve TB deaths by 2015.