Workers in the East asked to look out for tuberculosis symptoms
Public Health England (East) is running a mini awareness campaign
Workers in the East are asked to look out for signs of tuberculosis this World TB Day (24 March).
A mini campaign by Public Health England (East) is particularly focused on raising awareness for people who work in factories, warehouses and prisons.
The disease tends to spread between people who have been in close proximity to each other for long periods of time, but is otherwise not easy to catch.
People are being asked to be aware of the following symptoms:
- Persistent and worsening cough
- Feeling unusually ill or tired
- Unexplained weight loss
- Loss of appetite for no obvious reason
- Sweating attack - particularly at night
- Coughing up blood
According to Public Health England, TB develops slowly in the body and can take years for a patient to become openly infectious in some cases.
PHE has been working alongside the World Health Organisation and TB Alert to raise awareness in certain working environments.
While TB is preventable and curable, it claims the lives of 4,000 around the world globally, and in 2019 the number of people with the disease increased by 2.4% in England, which was the first rise in nine years.
Dr Deepti Kumar, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control at PHE East, said: "People should be reassured that TB does not spread easily from person to person. The risk is only increased for those that have spent many hours in close contact with someone with active TB, who is openly infectious and coughing up TB germs. While we are all doing our best to avoid COVID-19, some people may be missing the signs and symptoms of other illnesses like TB.
"It's very important that everyone is aware of the symptoms of TB, as greater awareness can mean the condition is diagnosed much faster and treatment can begin sooner."
People can find more information about TB infection and treatment on the NHS website.