SIX TB explorers have spent six months “busting myths” about the potentially fatal disease in Blackburn with Darwen’s South Asian communities.

They were recruited from within the population to raise awareness of tuberculosis, a major killer in the 19th century, which has recently made a comeback.

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Figures released in February show in 2013 there were 721 cases in the North West, 10.2 cases per 100,000 population. The national rate of 13.5 is higher than comparable countries in Western Europe and the USA.

The scheme was organised by Blackburn with Darwen Council and borough community group One Voice as part of its Bater Sehat health campaign. From September 2014 to March 2015, the project’s six TB explorers worked with 400 people on how the disease is caught and transmitted, who is at risk, how it can be prevented and how it is treated.

Baiter Sehat operations manager Zaheer Mahmud said: “We did not find a high incidence of TB in the community but we did find a lot of ignorance. Most of what people knew was old wives’ tales from the sub-continent so we set about busting these myths and explaining about the disease and that it is curable. People need to know what the symptoms are and that it is highly infectious so anyone showing signs gets to the doctor for treatment as soon as possible.”

A report on the project was presented to a North West TB summit in March to help health bosses plan preventive work.

The findings stress the importance of community participation in TB care, and sound information about symptoms and curability. The report said that this knowledge helps to reduce stigma, anxiety and hostility around TB, and called for more education and information on symptoms.

In report to Thursday’s council forum, borough health boss Mohammed Khan said: “More needs to be done to promote understanding.”