ONE PERSON A WEEK IN ENGLAND DIES WITH UNDIAGNOSED TB

One person per week in England dies with undiagnosed tuberculosis, according to a study published in the journal Thorax. Researchers found that British-born, older men were among those most likely to receive a TB diagnosis only after death. The study authors described postmortem TB diagnoses as a "never event" that should prompt urgent investigations, characterising it as "the ultimate diagnostic delay".

Tuberculosis rates in England reached a 10-year high in 2024, with official figures suggesting 9.4 cases per 100,000 people. This rate sits just below the World Health Organisation's threshold of 10 cases per 100,000 for "low incidence countries", a level expected to be exceeded when 2025 data are published. Most TB cases are diagnosed in people born outside the UK, with an average age of 36, but postmortem diagnoses tended to occur in older, British-born individuals. The likelihood of postmortem diagnosis was greater in people living outside London and those with a history of drug or alcohol misuse. Children under four also showed elevated risk, which researchers linked to underdeveloped immune systems and difficulties obtaining samples for testing.

Dr Eleanor Morgan, co-author and a resident doctor at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, stated that healthcare workers must continue asking whether TB could be present "even in people who do not fit the usual risk profiles". TB is preventable and treatable using antibiotics, with recent advances reducing treatment duration even for drug-resistant forms. Dr Tom Wingfield, senior author and of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, indicated that reducing diagnostic delays is essential if England is to eliminate TB.