Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the threat of tuberculosis to human health (1) in England, and (2) globally.

The UK Health Security Agency reports tuberculosis (TB) cases on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis for people resident in England or are treated in England and are homeless or visiting from abroad. In England, the incidence of TB fell significantly since 2011. While cases increased in 2019, a further decrease in 2020 was impacted by the disruption to services and diagnoses caused by the pandemic. Currently, cases numbers are approximately 4,000 per year with the highest rates concentrated in large urban areas.

In 2020, the World Health Organization noted an increase in deaths from TB globally between 2019 and 2020, an 18% decline in the reported number of people newly diagnosed in 2019 and a decline in treatment coverage to 59% in 2020. This disruption was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and a fall in global spending on TB.