Tuberculosis: Disease Control
(asked on 17th April 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to the meet the World Health Organisation's target to end tuberculosis by 2035.
In September 2023, the United Kingdom reconfirmed its commitment to the fight against tuberculosis (TB), including to World Health Organization’s (WHO) elimination targets, at the United Nations high-level meeting on TB.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England’s joint Tuberculosis (TB): action plan for England, 2021 to 2026 outlines outcomes and indicators to achieve a 90% reduction in people with TB by 2035, aligned with the WHO’s elimination targets.
The action plan includes measures to address TB prevention, detection, and control, as well as supporting the TB workforce. Measures include actions targeted at improving tracing of contacts of people with TB, treatment completion, and ensuring effective management of drug-resistant TB. Further information is available at the following link:
A pre-entry screening programme to detect active pulmonary TB has been in place since 2012. All migrants from high TB incidence countries arriving on visas for over six months are required to complete TB testing and, if necessary, treatment, before UK entry.
There is also NHS England’s national Latent Tuberculosis Infection Testing and Treatment programme, for recent migrants from high incidence countries. Detection and treatment of latent infection prevents people from developing active TB.
The UKHSA routinely undertakes whole genome sequencing of all TB strains through the National Mycobacterial Reference Service, to support treatment decisions based on resistance profiles and public health action with high resolution typing.
Work has been initiated, including a call for evidence, to develop a joint UKHSA and NHS England action plan for 2026 to 2031.