Researchers have spotted a pattern that clinicians may be dangerously overlooking a pattern researchers say clinicians may be dangerously overlooking
Tuberculosis is killing one person every week in England before a person even gets the chance to be diagnosed or treated, new research has revealed.
A new study published in the Journal Thorax has revealed that those most likely to receive a postmortem TB diagnosis were older, British-born men, which is different to the typical TB patient, who is foreign-born and in their mid-thirties.
Researchers believe clinicians may be failing to consider the condition in individuals who don’t fit the expected demographic.
It comes as TB rates in England have reached a ten-year high – with 9.4 cases per 100,000 people recorded in 2024.
This is below the World Health Organization’s threshold of 10 per 100,000 for low incidence status – a level researchers expect to be crossed when 2025 data is released.
Outside of London, the risk of an undetected case was higher still, particularly among those with a family history of alcohol or drug misuse.
Children under four also faced an elevated risk, which scientists put down to immature immune systems, vague symptoms and practical difficulties of obtaining samples from young patients.
Doctor Eleanor Morgan, co-author and resident doctor at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said raising case numbers made vigilance essential.
She said more clinicians should ask “could this be TB?” even when the patient doesn’t fit the conventional risk profile.
The authors of the study argued that postmortem diagnosis should be classified as a “never event”, which triggers formal investigation to identify where care fell short.
The broader picture is also one of growing concern, as COVID-19 disrupted tuberculosis programmes worldwide and fuelled a resurgence.
Meanwhile, cuts to US and other international aid funding risk compounding the problem further.