HC Deb 14 July 2003 vol 409 c128W
Mr. Burstow

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is available to the health service on the treatment of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis; and what monitoring systems are in place to ensure compliance with such guidance. [120080]

Miss Melanie Johnson

The Interdepartmental Working Group on Tuberculosis publication entitled "The Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in the United Kingdom": UK Guidance on the Prevention and Control of Transmission of

  1. 1. HIV-related tuberculosis
  2. 2. drug resistant tuberculosis (1998)
provides information for the National Health Service on drug resistant and multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) and process of notification.

All forms of TB are compulsorily notifiable by the physician making or suspecting the diagnosis under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984.

In addition, the Public Health Laboratory Service streamlined and improved its diagnostic services for TB, strengthened surveillance and monitoring of drug resistant TB, and, following the last of a series of five-yearly detailed surveys of notifications in 1998, introduced continuous enhanced surveillance in January 1999. From 2002, this enhanced surveillance has included monitoring of the outcome of treatment.