NICE is consulting on new guidelines for Tuberculosis (TB).
The draft updated guideline from NICE, which has been published for consultation combines clinical advice and public health guidance for the first time.
The draft guideline makes recommendations on the prevention, diagnosis and management of TB including drug resistant forms of the disease.
More than four out of five people with TB can be cured if treated properly. However, taking the wrong dose of combination of medicines, or taking medication irregularly or for too short a time can lead to drug resistance. If left untreated one person with pulmonary TB could potentially infect as many as 15 people every year.
Over the past 20 years TB cases have gradually increased, particularly in ethnic minority communities and urban areas where many people originally born in countries with high rates of TB now live. Areas with a high level of homelessness or drug use, poor housing or general poverty are also at risk. The disease is spread by bacteria in coughs and sneezes which are then inhaled by other people.