Undiagnosed tuberculosis kills one person a week in England, new study shows
One person a week dies from undiagnosed tuberculosis in England according to a new study which suggests health workers could be overlooking the disease.
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Older British-born men were among those most likely to be diagnosed with TB only after death which should be considered a "never event", researchers say.
Tuberculosis rates in England are at a ten-year high, with 9.4 cases per 100,000 people in 2024 which is only just below the World Health Organisation’s "low incidence country" threshold of 10 cases per 100,000.
However, this level is expected to be breached when 2025 figures are published.
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The average age of those diagnosed with TB is 36 and more common with people born outside the UK, but a study from the journal Thorax found that was not the case in those diagnosed after death, who tended to be older and British-born.
Dr Eleanor Morgan, the study’s co-author and a resident doctor, told The Guardian: "As TB rates continue to rise, we need to keep asking 'could this be TB?' even in people who do not fit the usual risk profiles.
"If England is to eliminate TB, reducing delays in diagnosis will be essential so that fewer people miss the opportunity to receive effective treatment."
TB is a contagious bacterial infection primarily affecting the lungs and spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
It was also found that children aged under four were at higher risk, which researchers said could be linked to underdeveloped immune systems, non-specific symptoms, and challenges in getting samples from very young children for testing.
Dr Tom Wingfield, of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine also suggested treating TB the same way "as a never event that triggers root cause analysis" could help prevent future deaths.