Almost one new case of TB detected every day
IRELAND is dealing with an average of one new TB case almost every day.
The latest Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC) statistics revealed Ireland dealt with 318 cases of TB in 2016 – an increase of 22, or 8pc, on the previous year.
However, health officials have welcomed the fact that there has been a significant overall decline in the number of TB case detections in Ireland since 2009.
This has been attributed to better screening systems, earlier treatment and reduced migration from areas where TB is virtually endemic.
The HPSC noted that TB detection rates amongst those born outside Ireland are significantly higher than in the indigenous population.
The age groups that reported the greatest rate of detection were those aged from 20-35 and those aged over 65. However, there was a notable difference in age between cases involving those born in Ireland and those born overseas.
TB detections amongst Irish-born cases involved an average age of 49 years. In contrast, those born overseas and detected with TB had an average age of 30 years.
Ireland recorded a surge of TB detections in 2009 when 479 cases were confirmed. That came as TB detections and precautionary screenings were ordered in a school, two crèches, a prison and even a hospital.
The current stats also mark a significant improvement on Ireland’s TB detection rates in the 1990s, when 604 cases were detected nationally in 1992. Both the HSE and the HSPC said that vigorous follow-ups on all TB reports have proven enormously successful.
Separately, it emerged that 13 cases of Zika virus were detected and treated in Ireland in 2016.