TB notifications in England level at 5,449 in 2025, with 2026 running 8.2% lower so far
New UKHSA figures show the rise of recent years has stopped. A new national action plan for the disease is still being written.
By Daily Oracles News Team1 min read
Tuberculosis cases in England stopped rising in 2025, according to figures from the UK Health Security Agency, and the early numbers for this year suggest they may be falling.
There were 5,449 notifications last year, close to the 5,485 recorded in 2024. That followed significant increases in previous years, with 4,380 notifications in 2022 and 4,831 in 2023. The rate was 9.26 per 100,000 people, against 9.36 the year before.
Provisional data for the first three quarters of 2026 show 3,858 people notified, compared with 4,204 in the same period of 2025, a fall of 8.2%. UKHSA said substantial further declines were still needed.
Who is most affected
The gap between richer and poorer areas has widened. In the most deprived tenth of England the rate reached 19.4 per 100,000, up from 17.5 in 2024 and 14.5 in 2019. People in those areas were 6.9 times more likely to be diagnosed than those in the least deprived.
Rates were highest in urban areas, and London had the most notifications, at 20.2 per 100,000.
The share of cases that were multi-drug resistant held at about the same level, 2.1% compared with 2.2%. UKHSA said this form needs longer and more complex treatment, which adds to the burden on health services.
What comes next
UKHSA is working on a new TB National Action Plan, which it said would prioritise the most effective ways of preventing, finding and controlling the disease, and address health inequalities. The current plan stays in use until then. It gave no publication date.
UKHSA said a cough with mucus lasting longer than three weeks can have a range of causes, including TB, and that anyone who thinks they could be at risk should speak to their GP.
