The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recorded 5,449 tuberculosis (TB) notifications in England in 2025, little changed from 5,485 a year earlier, while rates in the most deprived areas rose.
The national notification rate was 9.26 per 100,000 people, compared with 9.36 in 2024. UKHSA’s annual report records a rise from 4,380 notifications in 2022 to 4,831 in 2023, followed by the slight decline last year.
People living in England’s most deprived areas had a rate of 19.4 per 100,000 in 2025, up from 17.5 in 2024 and 14.5 in 2019. They were 6.9 times more likely to be diagnosed than residents of the least deprived areas. The report says the disparity was five times in 2019. London recorded the highest regional rate, at 20.2 per 100,000.
UKHSA associates the unequal burden with crowded housing, inadequate nutrition and barriers to obtaining health care and treatment. People born outside the UK accounted for 82.3% of notifications in 2025, close to the 82% recorded in 2024. For UK-born people, TB notifications were broadly steady across several groups flagged for risk, including those experiencing homelessness, dependency on drugs or alcohol, and criminal justice system involvement.
Multidrug-resistant TB affected 2.1% of people notified in 2025, compared with 2.2% in 2024. UKHSA said treating it can involve a more drawn-out and complicated course of care, adding work for health services.
Dr. Esther Robinson, head of UKHSA’s TB Unit, said “TB remains a serious public health issue” and urged awareness of symptoms to support prompt testing. The agency advises people who think they may be at risk to contact a GP. It says a cough that usually produces mucus and lasts longer than three weeks can have several causes, including TB.
Provisional figures published by UKHSA on Oct. 29 showed notifications in the first three quarters of 2026 were 8.2% below the same period in 2025. Testing and public information for at-risk groups are continuing under the current TB Action Plan. UKHSA is also developing a new National Action Plan focused on prevention, detection, control and health inequalities; the agency has not announced a publication date.
