Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSTuberculosis in UK to increase during Olympics
A surge in tuberculosis cases threatens to embarrass the UK during the Olympics unless London mayor Boris Johnson supports a campaign against the disease, an NHS leader has claimed.
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The call for Boris Johnson to help comes as new cases in Britain are set to exceed the entire US, which itself faced an epidemic in the 1990s until the mayor of New York took charge and cut the infection rate.
Nick Relph, chair of London TB Commissioning and chief executive of NHS Hounslow, said: “We have got more than 3,000 new cases a year of tuberculosis in London alone. This is a very serious situation that needs strong political leadership to get everyone working together. In three months we will have an action plan that I want the Mayor to back.”
Professor Helen Hally, national director of Race for Health, said: “Tackling TB properly needs firm commitment to challenging race inequality. It demonstrates how dealing with inequality can be the most cost effective way of improving health for everyone.”
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Readers' comments (3)
mike | 4-Jul-2010 8:48 am
So if he doesn't support it, he alone is personally responsible for rising cases of TB?
That is the single most ridiculous start to an article I have read in a while!
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Anonymous | 5-Jul-2010 2:43 pm
Mostly imported since we don't bother to screen immigrants and don't enforce treatment if a patient doesn't fancy taking the tablets - hence a rise in multi resistance. Most of the race inequality the Prof is taking about would be dealt with by making sure people could speak English before settling here.
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Anonymous | 8-Jul-2010 10:28 pm
It's not only the immigrants whom you think got TB (for Anonymous/5-Jul-2010 2:43 pm) for your information, even you can get it without you knowing unless you don't go abroad for your holidays ! Why do you think the English speaking people can't have the disease when in fact they got it first and spread it like wildfire when they colonize other countries way back in the olden times. Blaming immigrants doesn't solve the problems....not at all !!
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