Are you at risk of tuberculosis?
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World TB Day is coming up on Tuesday 24 March 2026, presenting an important opportunity to raise awareness and share crucial information about tuberculosis with our community.
World TB Day is on 24 March 2026
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection caused by bacteria. It mainly affects the lungs, but it can affect any part of the body, including lymph nodes (glands), bones and the brain causing meningitis.
TB is spread when a person with TB in their lungs or throat coughs or sneezes.
Anyone can get TB, but you are most at risk if:
• You have come into contact with a person with infectious TB
• If you have come to the UK from a country where TB is common
• If you have a weakened immune system due to a health condition or medical treatment e.g. biological therapy or chemotherapy
• If you are experiencing homelessness, drug and alcohol dependence and/or have had
contact with the criminal justice system.
Common symptoms include:
• a cough that lasts more than three weeks – you may cough up mucus (phlegm) or mucus
with blood in it
• a high temperature
• drenching night sweats
• loss of appetite
• unexplained weight loss
• feeling tired or exhausted
• In children, difficulty gaining weight or growing may indicate TB.
Not every persistent cough, along with a fever, is caused by flu or COVID-19. A cough that
usually has mucus and lasts longer than three weeks can be caused by a range of other issues, including TB.
TB is curable if it’s diagnosed early and treated promptly with the right combination of
specific antibiotics.
If you are at risk of active TB, you may also be at risk of latent TB infection (LTIB), where TB bacteria can live in your body without making you sick. People with latent TB infection have no symptoms and cannot pass TB on to others.
As with active TB, there is treatment available for LTIB to stop it from becoming active and making you and potentially others around you unwell.
If you’re worried about latent or active TB and think you could be at risk, don’t hesitate to talk to your GP.
About the UK Health Security Agency
UKHSA is responsible for protecting every member of every community from the impact of infectious diseases, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents and other health threats. We provide intellectual, scientific and operational leadership at national and local level, as well as on the global stage, to make the nation health secure. UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.
