Research conversation: Improving tuberculosis screening programme

About the event

How well is our current tuberculosis (TB) screening programme working, and how could we improve it?

The number of people being diagnosed with TB each year in the UK has been rising recently. In the UK we screen people for TB if they have recently moved from a country where the risk of TB may be higher.

We can offer treatment if people test positive for either TB or latent TB, sometimes referred to as “sleeping” TB. This is not infectious to others, but there is a risk it can develop into active TB later which would be infectious to others. We also screen people who work in health and social care, because there is a risk of TB infection to patients and the public.

If people screen positive for latent TB, they are offered 3 months of treatment to treat latent TB (2 medications called Rifampicin and Isoniazid). This reduces the risk of developing active TB, which is infectious to others. Unfortunately sometimes these medications can have side effects.

The number of people we need to screen is increasing. We do not know how well this screening programme works, or how many people it reaches. We do not know how people feel about being screened.

I am thinking about ways we can improve this screening process for patients and for people who work in health and social care.

About the speaker

Johanna Kellett Wright is a doctor who looks after people with infections (Specialty Registrar in Infectious Diseases & General Internal Medicine).

Johanna is also a NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Infectious Diseases at the University of Bristol.

She is interested in finding ways to keep people well, and improve access to healthcare for everyone.

What is a research conversation?

Research conversations are hosted by People in Health West of England and are informal sessions which are designed to give researchers and public contributors a chance to interact. Public contributors are encouraged to ask questions, learn about, and get involved in projects in their area.