London, Tuberculosis Capital Of Western Europe

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London, tuberculosis capital of Western Europe Dec 20, 2010

London, tuberculosis capital of Western Europe

LONDON – The number of people infected with tuberculosis has jumped by 50 percent in London in the last decade, making it the tuberculosis capital of Western Europe, a new report says.

Unlike other countries in the region where tuberculosis is dropping, the disease is on the rise in Britain, particularly in London. In 1999, there were about 2,309 cases.

By 2009, London had 3,450 cases of Britain's more than 9,000 cases, according to an article published Friday in the medical journal, Lancet. Since only about 70 percent of active tuberculosis cases are picked up, those numbers are an underestimate.

"We are concerned to see cases of TB at their highest levels since the 1970s," said Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar, head of tuberculosis surveillance at Britain's Health Protection Agency, in a statement. He was not connected to the commentary. "The key to reducing levels of TB is early diagnosis and appropriate treatment," Abubakar said.

While tuberculosis remains rare in the U.K. — about 15 people per 100,000 people are infected — that is still higher than elsewhere in Western Europe. In France, an estimated 10 people per 100,000 have tuberculosis.
Once known as the "white plague" in England because of the loss of skin color in patients, tuberculosis was virtually wiped out after the introduction of drugs and vaccinations in the 1960s. But it has surged in recent years, including drug-resistant strains.

Most tuberculosis cases in Britain are in people born overseas, although not in recent arrivals. About 85 percent of people with tuberculosis have been in Britain for at least two years, meaning the disease is not being imported, but circulating locally.

"The rise in tuberculosis cases has nothing to do with migration and immigrants," said Alimuddin Zumla of University College London, author of the commentary. "This is a fallacy that needs to be corrected," he said, noting the same risks that plagued Victorian England — like poor housing, bad ventilation and overcrowding — are to blame for Britain's current outbreak.

Though tuberculosis mainly affects groups like drug users, refugees, and people with HIV, its prevalence in prisons is problematic. The spread of tuberculosis in prisons has occasionally infected staff and then spilled over into the general population.

Britain is one of the world's biggest foreign aid donors, with considerable investments in projects fighting tuberculosis in poor countries.

"We need to clean up our own back garden first," Zumla said, calling for new strategies and more money to reverse the British epidemic. "Charity begins at home."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101217/ap_ ... 50dWJlcmM-



I advise you brits living in london , to BE CAREFUL !!

zubber
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Re: London, tuberculosis capital of Western Europe Dec 21, 2010
It's all those foreigners. My daughter spent quite a few weeks in the Royal London Hospital when she was ill. When she was moved to a normal ward from Intensive care I spent a lot of time at her bedside people watching. It was an eye opener. That hospital is situated in the East End and was mostly full of foreigners. In the ward there was a sink, which should have been used for medical purposes. There were signs all over the place in every language you could wish for but English telling people not to spit in the sink or wash their dishes. So what did they do? Yes spit in the sink and wash their plates. Bloody disgusting. There was a side ward where they stuck the ones in that were coughing their guts up. Even the nurses were minging, they didn't even wear their shoes properly but had the backs all trodden down. I squared up to the ward staff on more than one occasion as my daughter was not being looked after as I would have expected. In the end I had a meeting with Head of Nursing and my daughter was given a proper nurse.
There were hardly any whites on that ward and i would say at least 50% of the patients had TB. So it's my experience that says TB is being brought into England by immigrants.
I got her transferred out of that hell hole to a rehabilitation centre in Newcastle, where at least, they spoke English as the first language.
Bethsmum
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Re: London, tuberculosis capital of Western Europe Dec 21, 2010
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desertdudeshj
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Re: London, Tuberculosis Capital Of Western Europe Dec 21, 2010
Yeah, the aboriginals in Canada were complaining about the same thing when the whitey British and French colonists came in with all their diseases that ended up decimating the populations of some tribes.
kanelli
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Re: London, tuberculosis capital of Western Europe Dec 21, 2010
At least we didn't decimate your National Health Service.
Bethsmum
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Re: London, Tuberculosis Capital Of Western Europe Dec 21, 2010
^That's a bit rich, given the fact that the NHS would ground to a halt without the 'foreigners'!

Did you not see the 'Indian doctors' series recently? ;)

Bethsmum wrote:It's all those foreigners. .... So it's my experience that says TB is being brought into England by immigrants.


vs

About 85 percent of people with tuberculosis have been in Britain for at least two years, meaning the disease is not being imported, but circulating locally.

"The rise in tuberculosis cases has nothing to do with migration and immigrants," said Alimuddin Zumla of University College London, author of the commentary. "This is a fallacy that needs to be corrected," he said, noting the same risks that plagued Victorian England — like poor housing, bad ventilation and overcrowding — are to blame for Britain's current outbreak.


Hmm. Who shall we believe? :roll:


Cheers,
Shafique
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Re: London, Tuberculosis Capital Of Western Europe Dec 21, 2010
I am uncertain what is the effectiveness of the NHS as compared to the CDC, Quarantines need to be issued right away, With all the travelling going on during this holiday season, it will be a logistical nightmare for health care workers
zubber
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Re: London, tuberculosis capital of Western Europe Dec 21, 2010
Oh do me a favour Shaf, Alimuddin Zumla would say that wouldn't he? LOL

I never said those foreigners hadn't been in Btitain long, what I said was they couldn't speak English, you find immigrants who have been in England years and have never bothered to learn English. And as for the poor housing and over crowding, have you been in Whitechapel lately? It's like spot the white man. It's not the white British population that over crowd but the Pakistanis etc who have the whole clan in one house. You see it in the Northern towns too. Go behind one of those terraces and they've knocked about three houses into one and everybody and his Aunty live there.
As for the NHS and it's employees, yes, some of them do a good job and are very well paid for it too. I don't believe the NHS would collapse without them though. I have had cause to visit a hospital in Carlisle lately and have been seeing an Indian lady doctor. She is a very nice person and obviously knows what she is talking about, if only I could understand her. It was like something of Little Britain. Again? Again?
Bethsmum
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Re: London, tuberculosis capital of Western Europe Dec 21, 2010
Bethsmum wrote:Oh do me a favour Shaf, Alimuddin Zumla would say that wouldn't he? LOL


Well, he did give convincing evidence and is from the UCL (so knows what he is talking about). Tuberculosis is indeed a disease of the poor - but hey, why let facts/evidence get in the way of a particular world view?

You're not judging him because of his name are you? ;)

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Shafique
shafique
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Re: London, tuberculosis capital of Western Europe Dec 21, 2010
Shaf, I'm just telling it as I see it. I tend to judge things on what I see rather than on stats. It's my country and my opinion, that's all.
Bethsmum
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Re: London, tuberculosis capital of Western Europe Dec 21, 2010
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desertdudeshj
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Re: London, tuberculosis capital of Western Europe Dec 21, 2010
LMAO Where did you get that picture of me? What happened to that BNP thing you posted earlier DDS? I don't know what's going on with your posts lately, they keep disappearing. Only the other day you said in a post that if BM, a mother of 3 children, was to die, then even the sheep wouldn't miss her. I went back to read what I considered to be one of your finest and it had been removed. Are you being moderated or having second thoughts DDS?
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