A NEW report has revealed that Blackburn with Darwen has the highest rates of tuberculosis in the North West.

Tuberculosis, or TB, is a common and in many cases lethal infectious disease, which usually attacks the lungs.

The Health Protection Agency said a total of 828 cases of TB were reported in the North West in 2010, with 80 cases in Blackburn with Darwen.

This equated to a rate of 57.2 cases for every 100,000 people, an increase from 44.3 in 2009.

The North West Regional TB Group’s annual report for 2010 showed that Pendle had the sixth highest rates with 22.4, a drop from 30.2 the year before.

It said the majority of cases were in areas of deprivation and most had family associations with countries such as those in South Asia, where levels of TB are high.

However, an international tuberculosis expert, who has analysed East Lancashire’s high TB rates for more than 40 years, said the increase in the region was a small fluctuation in relatively small numbers, that had actually been reversed in 2011 so far.

Professor Peter Ormerod, associate director for research and development at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The problem with such a small number of cases is that a small change in direction can look dramatic.

“We’re in December and our rate this year is under 40, the lowest since 2003. In all likelihood, we’ll have had around half of last year’s cases, which would be a huge drop.”

TB symptoms include fever and night sweats, persistent cough, losing weight and blood in phlegm or spit. It is spread from person-to-person through coughs and sneezes, but only some cases are infectious.

Professor Ormerod said he had helped introduce preventative treatment based on screening of new immigrants for latent TB, followed by three month courses of drug treatment that could kill dormant bacteria before carriers developed active TB.

This has been offered by NHS Blackburn with Darwen Care Trust Plus since 2009 and NHS East Lancashire since 2010 and was added to National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines last year.

He said: “Our drop this year may be the first indication that this is starting to work.”

Dr Gifford Kerr, consultant in public health for NHS Blackburn with Darwen Care Trust Plus and Blackburn with Darwen Council, said the area had an “excellent” TB service.

He said: “TB is treatable with a six-month course of antibiotics and it is essential for patients to complete the full course of treatment.

“Patients who do not complete the course of treatment in its entirety risk developing a drug-resistant form of the infection, which greatly increases the risk to themselves and others.”

Dr Sohail Bhatti, interim director of public health at NHS East Lancashire, said its teams also tackled the disease in young children.

He said: “All babies who are classed as being at a higher risk of exposure to TB are offered, within their first four weeks of life, the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine which provides protection against tuberculosis.”