Tuberculosis (TB)

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is spread by airborne droplets. The risk of infection depends upon duration of exposure, the intensity of the exposure, and the immune status of the person exposed.

Northern Ireland Annual Surveillance Reports

Enhanced TB surveillance

All forms of active TB are statutorily notifiable so that timely public health action can be taken to prevent the spread, monitor outbreaks, assess the risk and manage incidents of exposure, and recognise trends in the incidence of TB in the population so as to contribute to and improve the control of TB. 

Statutory notification of TB cases is made through the Health Protection Duty Room: 

A notification form must be completed and sent to the Public Health Agency, including information on the patient’s name, address, sex, age and date of disease onset. The Infection Prevention & Control Team should also be informed in a hospital setting.

Where urgent advice or action is required, the Public Health Agency Duty Room should be contacted by telephone. Alternatively, the Public Health Agency can be contacted by telephone.  (0300 555 0114)

Enhanced data collection is input to the National Tuberculosis Surveillance system (NTBS) which allows for epidemiology in real time.

National TB surveillance (NTBS) system

Tuberculosis is a notifiable disease. Cases are also notified to PHA through a UK-wide National TB Surveillance (NTBS) system – the first UK-wide infectious disease enhanced surveillance system. NTBS provides information on:

  • number of cases
  • distribution
  • characteristics of cases
  • drug resistance patterns
  • treatment outcomes

It supports the early identification and treatment of cases and enables the identification of high-risk populations.With TB having been identified as a public health priority, detailed surveillance on case notification, risk factors, co-morbidities and laboratory results is vital to provide meaningful information on the epidemiology of the disease and to be able to implement evidence-based TB control strategies.

NTBS exists to provide detailed information on each person with TB and the epidemiology of their disease in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The information provided through notification and enhanced through linkage to other sources of data is used for epidemiological surveillance to control TB. 

NOIDs

Epidemiology of Tuberculosis in England and Northern Ireland (by UKHSA)

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