TB in young causes concern

The TB bacterium is transmitted by coughs and sneezes

The growing problem of tuberculosis in the UK has been highlighted by a south Wales health authority, which has detected 50 cases.

Bro Taf Health Authority - covering 750,000 people in Cardiff and the south Wales Valleys - has noted substantial increases over a four year period, many cases involving teenagers.

Three people have died, including a child.

The findings by the authority coincide with the staging of World Tuberculosis Day on Saturday.

Until recently, TB was seen as a Third World problem

In Wales, health professionals have warned of a "major problem" if cases among teenagers continues to rise.

The figures show an 80% increase over 10 years.

Most of the cases in south Wales developed in clusters and among children and teenagers who have never left the United Kingdom.

Now the health authority is looking into the bringing back routine TB jabs for all teenagers in schools to combat the spread of the disease.

School children in Cardiff have not been given routine TB jabs since 1989 and teenagers in the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taff areas not since 1999, because of a national shortage of tuberculin - used in the TB skin prick test.

With the threat of multi-drug resistance to antibiotics, there is a danger that the disease could become a major problem

Dr Sharon Hopkins, Bro Taf Health Authority

It had been thought the spread of TB could be controlled by keeping watch on high risk groups instead of vaccinating everybody, but this has proved too difficult.

One problem has been ensuring diagnosed TB sufferers took the full six-month course of various antibiotics to cure them.

Without following the course, at least one-third of all people with TB die from the disease and another third remain chronically ill.

Another problem has been the development of resistance to the antibiotics.

Thirdly, doctors have had difficulties tracing and screening the close contacts of every infectious patient with TB.

Drug resistance

Young people are more likely to spread the disease than the elderly due to having a higher number of close contacts, but they are also more likely to be reluctant to reveal the names of those close contacts.

The vaccine is at least 70% effective among young people and Bro Taf Health Authority aims to have the new jab programme up and running in the next school year.

The authority's Dr Sharon Hopkins said: "With the rise in TB among the young, and the threat of multi-drug resistance to antibiotics, there is a danger that the disease could become a major problem for young people in Wales.

"Bro Taf Health Authority is working with other health professionals to ensure that this does not happen."

TB is caused by a germ (bacteria) that is usually spread by coughing, sneezing or spitting, though not every person with TB is infectious.