Covid-19 is being replaced by Tuberculosis (TB) as the world’s most deadly infectious disease, as medical experts warn of the threat it poses to the UK.
The biggest ever TB clinical trial is being set up to tackle the hidden pandemic in Africa, where the frontline in the battle against the bug is being fought.
British Professor Robert Wilkinson is leading a global call to find an effective, one-shot vaccine, with collaborations between scientists in the US, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Madagascar and the Ivory Coast.
Medication to fight TB take at least six months to be effective, and if they are stopped prior to that, the disease can come back in a much more deadly form which is drug resistant
The BCG vaccine was given to all children in the UK to immunise against TB, up until 2005. It is now only given to children who may travel to high-risk countries. Immunity from the illness does not last past the teenage years.
The US is set to eradicate TB due to heavy investment and contact tracing during outbreaks. At present it employs a similar procedure to the UK's BCG programme prior to 2005.
The Mirror spoke to TB survivors in the South African township of Khayelitsha, which has one of the highest rates of drug-resistant TB in the world.
The clinic is run by Prof Wilkinson, of London’s Francis Crick Institute. He said: “It’s inevitable TB will be the most deadly infectious disease in the world again. The proportion of resistant TB is gradually increasing everywhere and that is a problem in Europe too.
“We should ensure that all legal and illegal arrivals to the UK have access to health care and, if necessary, screening and early treatment. Even if they are detained for illegal arrival, they have a right to care and it is advantageous for the UK to provide that.”
English TB cases imported into the country have started to increase after a decade-long decline, and are deadly in around a third of patients who catch this mutated form of the virus.
TB survivor Veliswa Dayeni suffered TB meningitis, a severe form which attacks the brain. The mum of two, 48, survived but was left partially blind.
She said: “It started with really bad headaches. Then for weeks I was completely paralysed. I couldn’t wash myself and had to have an adult diaper. This disease is so dangerous."
Veliswa was given lifesaving drugs as part of one of Prof Wilkinson’s trials. The World Health Organisation put annual TB deaths at 1.6 million during 2021, with 2022 figures expected to be higher. In comparison, Covid-19 deaths in 2022 were estimated at around 1.2m.
Prof Wilkinson said: “Most people, if you told them TB deaths were of a similar order of magnitude as Covid, they would not believe you. There aren’t enough resources compared to Covid. It’s a drop in the ocean.”
Prof Wilkinson is leading talks with research institutions in the US, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Madagascar and the Ivory Coast with the ultimate aim to find a “one shot” treatment that cures TB.
These clinical trials of TB treatments, the largest in in history, could transform survival rates for those who catch it.
Prof Wilkinson said: “There’s evidence to suggest the target of one of the drugs contributes to the tissue damage in TB meningitis.
“It is a very powerful, long acting anti-inflammatory with the advantage that you only need an injection every two to four weeks. That would be a one shot jab but it’s only a hypothesis at this stage. It would be the biggest-ever clinical trial into TB if we can get the funding.”
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