Demand to tackle London's TB crisis

The Government spends more treating tuberculosis in cattle than on tackling the growing crisis of the disease in London, experts said today.

The capital has 40 per cent of the 6,000 cases a year in the UK but gets a fraction of the money the Environment Department provides for treating animals.

Professor Chris Griffiths of Queen Mary School of Medicine called for more to be spent. Britain is the only country in Europe where cases have risen in the past 10 years. More than 6,000 people were diagnosed with TB in 2002 and around 350 die every year.

The UK spends ?18 million on fighting TB in cattle but only ?8 million on TB in London.

However, Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson has announced a plan to aid vulnerable groups.