Last updated: 15 August 2023
Next review: 20 June 2024
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Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection that usually affects the lungs and can be serious if not treated. The data shows that rates of TB are higher in people born outside the UK, particularly those of Indian, Pakistani or Black African ethnicity, compared to people born in the UK. Rates of TB are also higher in the most deprived areas and more than a fifth of UK-born cases have a known social risk factor such as homelessness or drug use. [1]
Waltham Forest has seen a rapid decline in the TB incidence rate since 2011 to 2013. The three-year average rate has fallen from 46 cases per 100,000 people in 2011 to 2013 to 18.4 per 100,000 in 2019 to 2021. The TB incidence rate in Waltham Forest is now similar to the London average (17.4 per 100,000), whereas the England average is significantly lower (7.8 per 100,000 in 2019 to 2021).
Source: OHID Public Health Outcomes Framework. Data from UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Date accessed: 25 April 2023.
References:
[1] Public Health England (2021). Health Profile for England 2021. Date accessed: 04 May 2023.