Urgent action to tackle a shocking rise in tuberculosis in London was demanded by would-be mayor Sadiq Khan today.
New figures show Newham is the “TB capital” of the country with rates eight times the national average, at 113 cases per 100,000 residents.
Astonishingly, this rate of infection was higher last year than rates in nations such as Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Mali, Niger, Rwanda and Togo. Other London boroughs with sky-high rates of TB are Brent, Ealing, Hounslow, Redbridge and Hillingdon, according to official Government figures.
Overall, 28 out of 32 London boroughs are above the national average.
Warning of a public health crisis, Mr Khan said measles mumps and rubella vaccination levels were below average in almost every London borough. A fifth of children in Enfield were not vaccinated at all, even though over half of all measles incidents in England in 2014 were in London.
“The Mayor of London has a specific responsibility for public health, but looking at this data you have to wonder what he’s been doing for the last seven years,” said Mr Khan.
“It’s truly shocking and shameful that London has levels of infectious diseases that would embarrass many Third World countries.
“To fix this, I’d tackle air quality, reduce childhood obesity and tackle communicative disease.”
Tooting Labour MP Mr Khan said he would also demand improved screening for TB when people register at family doctors, plus more investment in TB nurses. He said he would also use City Hall powers to campaign for higher uptake of the MMR jab.
