Tuberculosis (TB)

We are a specialist service, working across Leeds, to offer support and advice to people of all ages who have TB.

About the Leeds Community TB Service

We are a community service and work in partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and UK Health Security Agency. We offer advice and support and provide specialist care and information on all aspects of Tuberculosis (TB), including the prevention and treatment of TB, in clinic settings and the home, for people of all ages throughout Leeds.

What our service provides

Advice about TB
Support to individuals with TB and Latent TB Infection (LTBI)
Screening for people who have been in contact with TB
Screening for people who come to live in Leeds from countries where people are more likely to have TB
BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) the vaccine against TB for eligible children aged 16 and under

We work with all newly diagnosed patients and provide ongoing support at home and in clinics throughout treatment. We arrange screening for people who have been in contact with all active TB cases.

We also screen people coming to live in the UK from countries with a high rate of TB. These people will have had a chest x-ray in their own country before travelling to the UK but the x-ray would only identify TB in the lungs and not Latent TB infection. Latent TB can be detected by a blood test or skin test and treatment may be offered to prevent this becoming active.

We receive a list of newly registered GP patients who have arrived from areas of the world where TB rates are higher than 150 cases per 100,000 population (as defined by the World Health Organisation). They are then invited to contact us for an appointment for TB screening.

What patients say about our service…

“I have been treated with respect and care. My wants and needs have always been catered for.”

“I get treated with respect and kindness every time I come for an appointment. They don’t make you feel the least bit uncomfortable”

Referrals

We accept self referral, GP referral, hospital referral, health professional referral by email on tbhealthvisitingservice@nhs.net

We respond to queries on all aspects of TB from professionals and the general public.

Is your country on the list?

Have you or your family arrived in the UK within the last five years from one of these countries?

Afghanistan
Angola
Bangladesh
Benin
Bhutan
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verdi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo
Cote d’Ivoire Ivory Coast
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Democratic Republic of Congo
Djibouti
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Greenland
Haiti
India
Indonesia
Kenya
Kiribati
Laos
Lesotho
Liberia
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Micronesia
Moldova
Mongolia
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Niger
Nigeria
Pakistan
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Rwanda
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor Leste
Togo
Tuvalu
Uganda
Vietnam
Zambia
Zimbabwe

If you and/or your family have been in any of the countries above, and you have not had a TB blood test, please call us on 0113 843 4344.

The UK BCG Immunisation Programme

What is the UK BCG Immunisation Programme?

This is currently being delivered by the TB Service and is now risk-based, targeting babies and children who are more likely to have had exposure to TB. For further information on this, please visit UK Health Security Agency.

If you think your child is eligible for a BCG vaccination...

Please contact your health practitioner/GP who will complete the relevant referral form. You are not able to refer your child for the screening.

Referrals to the UK BCG Immunisation Programme

Unfortunately, we do not accept self referrals, so please contact your health practitioner/GP for a referral to the service.

Tel: 0113 843 4344

Email: bcgclinicleeds@nhs.net

Information for Healthcare Professionals

How to refer a child requiring a BCG from a country with a prevalence of TB ≥ 40/100, 000 (please see link for list of countries (This link is also on the BCG referral form)

The referral forms can be located on the ‘Leeds Health Pathways’ here

Search – BCG referral pathway
Select – Referral info and forms
Chose the appropriate form –

Children under the age of 12 months will need to be referred to The Maternity LTHT baby BCG clinic (Form A).
Children aged 12 months and over will need to be referred to the Leeds BCG clinic. (Form B).

TB Frequently Asked Questions

What is Tuberculosis (TB)?

Tuberculosis (simply called TB) is an infectious disease caused by a bacteria. TB mainly affects the lungs but can attack any part of the body.

Like the common cold, TB spreads through the air. Only people who are sick with TB in their lungs are infectious. When infectious people cough, sneeze, talk, spit, laugh or sing they let out the TB germ into the air. If a healthy uninfected person inhales air containing the TB they can become infected themselves.

Infection with TB generally occurs during close contact over a period of time with someone with TB disease.

Who can get TB?

Anyone can get TB. It strikes people of all races, ages and income levels.

The following factors are associated with a higher risk of becoming infected:

close contact with people with active TB disease
HIV infection
poverty
malnutrition
homelessness.

What are the symptoms of TB?

A person with TB in their lungs may have any, all or none of the following symptoms:

persistent cough
weight loss
fever
loss of appetite
tiredness
night sweats
shortness of breath
coughing up blood.

A person with TB in another organ of the body may have the following general symptoms:

weight loss
fever
night sweats.

Other symptoms will depend on the organ or organs affected, and might include for example:

swelling of the lymph nodes
joint pain and swelling
headache, fever, neck stiffness and drowsiness due to TB meningitis.

Who should be tested for TB?

People should be tested for TB if:

They have spent time with someone who is known or thought to have infectious TB disease
They were born in or frequently travel to countries where TB is common
They live or are employed in a large group setting where TB is more common – such as a homeless shelter, prison or nursing home
They are a health care worker who cares for patients with TB disease
They are living with HIV; or they are a child who may have been in contact with someone with TB disease – children, especially those under 5, have a higher risk of developing TB disease once infected and it is therefore very important to test for TB infection in children who may have been in contact with someone with TB disease.

What is the treatment for TB?

TB disease is curable and can be treated by a combination of antibiotics.