Policy digest: Tuberculosis

The release of an £11.5 million strategy designed to wipe out TB in England is the latest development in the effort to combat the condition, which has risen sharply in the last two decades. The disease, which disproportionately affects deprived areas, was widespread until the Victorian era, when it was addressed as a severe public health problem and widely eradicated. However, since 1990, there has been a sharp rise in the number of cases reported, peaking in 2011, when 8923 cases were reported. The strategy proposes the creation of TB control boards, which will coordinate primary care, social and local authority services to identify at risk groups and ensure that TB does not spread further in the local area. The TB control boards were created as a reaction to the drastic disparity of TB between regions: large urban centres such as London and Birmingham reported up to five times the national average of TB cases. Nurses are advised to contact their TB board if they suspect any cases of the condition.