London TB warning

One in every two British tuberculosis cases is in London, figures revealed today.

The capital is now in the frontline of the fight against the disease, which was supposed to have been conquered decades ago.

London doctors are dealing with 3,000 new cases each year.

The problem is so bad that Great Ormond Street Hospital has opened a new clinic to tackle the disease - but doctors there today said that more government action is needed to deal with the crisis.

The hospital's infectious diseases consultant, Dr Vas Novelli, said: "TB is not always picked up immediately, and we are now facing multidrug-resistant strains of TB in the capital.

"Unless the numbers of TB nurses are increased we will continue to see an inexorable rise in cases in London."

Professor Peter Ormerod, of the British Thoracic Society, said: "It is amazing that the Government makes grandiose statements about building a modern, hi-tech NHS, but when it comes to deciding how we manage a Victorian disease like TB we appear to be living in the dark ages. It seems to me that when it comes to TB, John Reid is all talk and no action."

Immigration, overcrowding and the spread of HIV infection have contributed to the resurgence of TB in the UK. Poorer areas suffer most and Newham and Tower Hamlets are worst affected.

England and Wales is the only country in the EU to have recorded a rise in TB cases. A Department of Health spokesman said: "A huge amount of action is under way across the country."