A backlog of tuberculosis (TB) patients have been left waiting for care in Leeds, where rates of the disease are higher than the national average.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the Covid pandemic had negatively affected screening rates and treatment for TB. The agency has identified tackling the disease as a priority for Leeds’ health authorities over the next year.
TB is a bacterial infection, which can be contagious and most commonly affects the lungs, which has led some to mistake its symptoms for Covid. Although sufferers can come down with symptoms soon after catching it, in others it can lie dormant for many years before becoming active later on. Those cases are classed as “latent”.
