Doctors warn TB infections set to rise

THE consistent decline in tuberculosis (TB) rates in Ireland over the past 50 years may be somewhat reversed by the increase of immigration into Ireland, leading experts in the area said yesterday.

Four respiratory physicians from hospitals in Dublin and Cork told the Oireachtas Committee on Health that the number of cases of TB had fallen from almost 7,000 a year in the early 1950s to around 400 per annum at present.

However, in a presentation to the committee, the experts said TB incidence may increase in Ireland as a result of rises in Britain and also because many immigrants come from countries with higher levels of TB than this country. Some come from countries, such as the former Soviet bloc, where resistant forms of TB are more common. They prolong the treatment period to periods between 12-18 months.