Collection

Tuberculosis (TB): diagnosis, screening, management and data

Information on the diagnosis, screening, epidemiology and public health strategy for tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases.

Published 1 June 2014
Last updated 4 February 2019 — see all updates

• From: Public Health England

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection caused by a bacterium belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, which includes:

• M. tuberculosis
• M. africanum
• M. bovis
• some rare bacteria such as M. microti and M. pinnipedii

TB is a notifiable disease in the UK. Suspected and confirmed diseases must be notified within 3 working days.

For symptoms and general information on tuberculosis, visit NHS.UK.

Diagnosis

1. Tuberculosis: notifying cases
   • 1 October 2014
   • Guidance
2. Tuberculosis reference laboratories
   • 29 August 2012
   • Guidance
3. Tuberculosis (TB): direct molecular testing for TB
   • 19 July 2013
   • Guidance
4. Tuberculosis (TB): Interferon Gamma Release Assay tests
   • 19 July 2013
   • Guidance
5. Tuberculosis (TB): national audit of laboratories
   • 15 July 2012
   • Guidance

Treatment, management and vaccination

Standard anti-TB treatment consists of a combination of 4 different antibiotics, usually taken daily for a minimum 6-month period. See National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on treatment of TB.

The BCG vaccine is recommended for high risk groups such as healthcare workers and babies at increased risk of exposure to TB infection.

See the chapter about tuberculosis (TB) immunisation in Immunisation against infectious disease: the Green Book.

For further information about BCG vaccine and supporting resources please go to Immunisation

1. Managing tuberculosis (TB) in prisons
   • 1 May 2013
   • Guidance
2. Tuberculosis: the disease, its treatment and prevention
   • 31 March 2016
   • Promotional material
3. Tuberculosis by country: rates per 100,000 people
   • 29 October 2019
   • Research and analysis
4. Latent TB infection (LTBI): testing and treatment
   • 14 May 2019
   • Guidance
5. Latent TB testing and treatment: leaflet
   • 1 October 2015
   • Promotional material

Epidemiology

Public Health England runs enhanced tuberculosis surveillance (ETS) for real-time case reporting. ETS also has laboratory data on drug sensitivity, species and strain typing.

1. Tuberculosis in England: quarterly reports
   • 22 October 2019
   • Official Statistics
2. Reports of cases of TB to UK enhanced tuberculosis surveillance systems
   • 30 July 2019
   • Official Statistics
3. Tuberculosis in England: annual report
   • 1 August 2019
   • Research and analysis
4. Tuberculosis (TB) in England: ad hoc provisional data
   • 22 March 2019
   • Research and analysis
5. Tuberculosis (TB) in England: surveillance data
   • 25 July 2019
   • Research and analysis
6. Tuberculosis (TB): annual notification data 1913 onwards
   • 25 July 2019
   • Research and analysis
7. Tuberculosis (TB) in the UK: annual report data up to 2013
   • 25 September 2014
   • Research and analysis
8. UK tuberculosis (TB) surveillance data up to 2013
   • 20 November 2014
   • Official Statistics
9. Tuberculosis (TB): annual update
   • 24 March 2015
   • Research and analysis
10. Tuberculosis (TB): regional and devolved administration reports
    • 5 November 2019
    • Research and analysis

Screening

1. Tuberculosis screening
   • 22 March 2018
   • Guidance
2. Tuberculosis (TB) screening for the UK: leaflet
   • 23 July 2014
   • Promotional material
3. Tuberculosis: pre-entry screening in the UK
   • 1 August 2019
   • Guidance

NKS-TB treatment and management advice

The national knowledge service - tuberculosis (NKS-TB) provides guidance for health professionals who treat and manage TB in patients.

To view patient resources developed by NKS-TB visit NHS Choices

1. Tuberculosis (TB) in the workplace
   • 11 March 2015
   • Guidance
2. Tuberculosis (TB) and homelessness
   • 7 January 2016
   • Guidance
3. Tuberculosis (TB) and substance misuse
   • 1 November 2013
   • Guidance
4. Tuberculosis (TB) and asylum seekers
   • 1 November 2013
   • Guidance
5. Tuberculosis (TB) and children
   • 1 November 2013
   • Guidance
6. Universal HIV testing for TB patients
   • 1 November 2013
   • Guidance
7. Tuberculosis and pregnant women
   • 1 November 2013
   • Guidance
8. Tuberculosis (TB): information for discipline and wing staff
   • 22 March 2019
   • Guidance
9. Tuberculosis (TB): molecular diagnosis
   • 7 January 2016
   • Guidance

National tuberculosis strain typing service

The national strain typing service involves prospectively typing TB isolates using 24 loci mycobacterial interspersed repeat units - variable number tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR). The results of this are used in local or national investigation of suspected TB transmission incidents.

1. National TB strain typing service: what we do
   • 1 April 2014
   • Guidance
2. National TB strain typing service: factsheet
   • 30 January 2014
   • Guidance
3. M. tuberculosis strain typing: data production and distribution
   • 30 August 2012
   • Guidance
4. National TB strain typing service: summary report
   • 1 October 2013
   • Guidance
5. TB strain typing and cluster investigation: handbook
   • 25 February 2014
   • Guidance
6. Enhanced TB surveillance strain typing module: user guide
   • 30 November 2013
   • Guidance
7. Tuberculosis (TB) strain typing service: evaluation
   • 30 March 2013
   • Guidance

Strategy

Subscribe to the TB Strategy Implementation Update for progress on the TB strategy.

1. Tuberculosis (TB): collaborative strategy for England
   • 19 January 2015
   • Policy paper
2. Health matters: reducing the burden of tuberculosis
   • 20 October 2016
   • Guidance
3. Tackling tuberculosis in under-served populations
   • 23 January 2019
   • Guidance

Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis)

Human cases of tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) are rare. These pages present surveillance data on the numbers of human cases of M. bovis and guidance on management of the disease in cattle and other animals to reduce the risk of human infection.

1. Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis: notification data
   • 25 July 2019
   • Research and analysis
2. Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis): enhanced surveillance questionnaire
   • 3 August 2016
   • Form
3. Bovine tuberculosis (TB): public health management
   • 29 September 2014
   • Guidance
4. Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis): reducing the risk of human infection
   • 21 December 2015
   • Guidance
5. Bovine tuberculosis (TB) in domestic pets
   • 3 March 2017
   • Guidance

Published 1 June 2014
Last updated 4 February 2019 + show all updates

1. 4 February 2019 Added new page 'Tuberculosis in England: quarterly reports'.
2. 25 September 2018 Added TB annual report for 2018 and the 2018 slide set.
3. 18 January 2017 Added resource for tackling tuberculosis in under-served populations.
4. 30 June 2016 Added guidance for the unlicensed BCG vaccine, in response to a vaccine shortage: training material for healthcare professionals; guide for parents and carers.
5. 10 March 2016 Added existing latent TB testing guidance and patient leaflet in multiple languages to the collection.
6. 7 January 2016 Added treatment and management advice documents from the National Knowledge Service.
7. 16 December 2015 Added publications under 'NKS-TB treatment and management advice'.
8. 1 October 2015 Publishing annual report and statistics covering up to 2014.
9. 17 November 2014 The Tuberculosis in Kent, Surrey and Sussex: annual report has been published.
10. 1 October 2014 The Tuberculosis: notifying cases guidance has been added.
11. 29 September 2014 Updated to include 'Bovine tuberculosis: public health management' guidance.
12. 25 September 2014 2014 annual report added.
13. 1 June 2014 First published.