Why is tuberculosis in the United Kingdom, the most fatal infectious diseases in the world?

Anga Madhvani was already sick When running out of water in the middle of the desert. He had traveled from the UK to operate Ultramaraathon in Morocco in 2018, but it seems that he could not keep enough food. I was clouded at night and it was a fever. When coughing, the blood comes out.

Then the hallucinations began. “I was alone in this extension of the cooked land,” said Madihavani, 35. “I had a body feeling that I was dying.” When the race finally ended He returned to the United Kingdom, the doctors told him that he was suffering from influenza and then chest injury.

Later, the radiographs and phlegm tests confirmed that Madhvani I had tuberculosisWhich made it one of 6.9 million people who were diagnosed this year all over the world. It took Madevani 11 days in the isolation unit From the hospital and almost a year takes tablets daily to recover from the disease, and another year to feel itself again.

“The progress was very slow,” explains, Madhvani, the director of events in Leeds. “I was walking with this deadly thing inside me, and I had no idea … some of these things still last a little.” You often think about tuberculosis as residue From the nineteenth century, when it was believed that “Tisis” was responsible for a quarter of deaths in the United Kingdom.

But it is still the most fatal infectious diseases in the world, and it is estimated that you kill 1.25 million people In 2023, tuberculosis mainly affects the countries of Southeast Asia, Africa and the West of the Pacific Ocean, and it is often called “social disease” because of its close relationship with poverty.

After a decrease During the Covid-19 pandemicRich countries like the United Kingdom now see a return to Tuberculosis According to the experts, the Canary in the coal mine is for other health problems related to social deprivation, from others Infectious diseases of chronic conditions Such as diabetes.

“Give Tuberculosis Research Center From the College of Equity Medicine in Liverpool.

Increase in Tuberculosis in the United Kingdom

England recorded 5480 cases of tuberculosis last year, And 13 % More than 2023, in addition to an 11 % increase in the previous year, the largest annual increase since then At least 1971. Spain, Meanwhile, It has a rate of tuberculosis It has evolved from 9.39 cases per 100,000 people in 2019 to 7.83 per 100,000 people in 2022

It is now common to be the East London Clinic, where there are more new disease cases than anywhere in Western Europe, center 4.63 million pounds (5.55 million euros) For patients with tuberculosis. Last year, he treated 294 patients.

Tuberculosis due to bacteria Which can remain inherent in the lungs for decades before attacking the rest of the body, especially the spine and the brain. The only vaccine currently helps prevent illness among young children, however noEseffective For adults. Most of the new cases occurred in England between immigrants who may have been injured years before their arrival.

But for the second year in a row, the cases of tuberculosis in England are increasing between the newborns in the United Kingdom, after its decline every year since 2012. Infections also increased in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The increase in cases is likely to be partially due to the interruption of medical care during the Covid-19s, which means that the accumulation of tuberculosis infections is now detected. It is a significant increase enough As if these delays may be only part of the story.

The risk of developing tuberculosis is greater among people who have no shelter, who lived crowd, who were in prison or were in prison, who took drugs or alcohol or suffering from malnutrition. At the end of 2024, only 13.1 % of TB patients in England Or more than at least the social danger factor, but with no data, it is likely to be insufficient.

“We know very well for the numbers from which the increases come. Why is it still a mystery?“Euronews Health”, Paul Summerfeld, CEO of TB Alert, a non -profit organization dedicated to tuberculosis in the United Kingdom and India.

How to combat tuberculosis

Earlier this month, UK Health Security Agency (Ukhsa) The opinion of experts on an updated five -year action plan to prevent and discover TB and better control England.

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The current plan aims to stop the delay In the diagnosis, such as what is suffering from Madhvani, to ensure that most patients end their treatment, and to perform more tuberculosis tests and ensure that health workers can discover signs of the disease. But it is not yet clear whether enough money will be allocated Somerveld said the new plan, especially to raise awareness among high -risk societies about the symptoms and how to reach medical care.

La Ukhsa Refusing to answer questions about the priorities Or the new plan budget. In a statement sent to “Euronews Health”, Dr. Estir Robinson, head of the Agency TB Unit, described the “serious public health problem” and urged residents to undergo tests if he provides symptoms, including continuous coughing and mucus.

Wingfield has some ideas for the plan. You want to do more detection tests The new immigrants are at risk of developing tuberculosis, due to the presence of a few who have been truly subjected to them, and suggested that companies that employ foreigners help finance the program. The government also wants to collect more information about social and economic problems for tuberculosis patients, from putting them in contact with homes, food banks and other services.

In the United Kingdom, many Doctors specialize in tuberculosis “They gave money from their pocket to a person they came to get food, or pay a bus … or simply because they are in a desperate position,” explained Winjfield.

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During, Madhvani referred to the lakes in supporting the mental health of patients From tuberculosis, especially once the treatment is over. He says: “I do not think that the regime understands the extent of its horror and its only one, especially when the treatment is completed and threw in the world. There is no longer a follow -up.”

Determination of tuberculosis to facilitate treatment

The positive aspect is that a few British patients They have tuberculosis forms For drugs, which can make it difficult and more expensive. Pharmacy resistance is a major problem in countries where people have difficulty accessing medical care or boycotting treatment at an early stage. Medicines sometimes cause painful side effects, and People should take them Every day for four to nine months.

“We have a somewhat good system for treating tuberculosis, but it is about finding people soon to properly treat it,” says Summerfeld. Some people never have disease. but Eliminating infections at an early stage is essential For patients like Madhvani.

He does not know how to get tuberculosis. But before it is diagnosed, He hit his partner without knowingFriends, family and colleagues. The majority did not get sick, but their mother was yes, and after seven years he continued to fight health complications. Another person who was afflicted by Madanhani had underlying tuberculosis, but still has any disease. Doctors prescribed the medicine to avoid the disease, but they stopped taking it early.

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Years later, “Send me a photo of him in the hospital, Demacrate … and It looked more sick than I was never“Madhvani says. His reaction was angry because tuberculosis was not seriously taken.” I don’t think people understand what can happen to you if you don’t heal. ”It doesn’t matter how rich you are, if you have traveled or not.