HEALTH chiefs said they are taking major steps to tackle tuberculosis (TB) in East Lancashire.

It comes after Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England announced an £11.5 million investment as part of a collaborative initiative to decrease TB cases over the next five years and ultimately eliminate the disease altogether.

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In 2013, there were 721 cases reported in the North West, an incidence of 10.2 cases per 100,000 of the population. The national rate of 13.5 is one of the highest rates and greatest burden of cases of comparable countries in Western Europe.

The figures are in marked contrast to the US, Germany and the Netherlands which have all seen consistent reductions by using concerted approaches to TB prevention, treatment and control. If current trends continue, England will have more TB cases than the whole of the US in two years.

To tackle this problem, PHE and NHS England have worked with key stakeholders to develop a collaborative TB strategy for England, to bring about a year-on-year reduction in TB cases.

Dr Jane Rossini, centre director at Cumbria and Lancashire’s PHE Centre, said: “The North West regional TB board was established in January 2011 to bring together a wide range of organisations to tackle TB. These new measures will build on the strong collaborative arrangements that have been in place from the previous arrangements.”