Further, as TB, with rare exceptions, is largely a disease of the elderly in the Western world, vaccinating children makes no sense. TB in Britain is a legacy of its empire. As long as people from third world countries come and settle here, there cannot be a let-up in its spread. People who come from high prevalence countries will continue to harbour TB germs in their bodies until they die. The World Health Organisation has set its face against vaccination and routine screening.
Vaccination wastes resources, gives false hope and distracts attention from what needs to be done.
Dr Surinder Bakhshi Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, Birmingham.