Incentivise GPs to screen high risk patients for TB, NICE says

GP practices should be incentivised to screen and vaccinate high risk groups to help tackle escalating rates of tuberculosis (TB), the National Institute for Health and care Excellence (NICE) has warned.

NICE published new guidance for TB prevention, which covers preventing, identifying and managing latent and active TB in children, young people and adults.

A key recommendation is encouraging the uptake of the BCG vaccination, which includes the suggestion that practices should receive financial incentives for identifying eligible, high risk groups for BCG and TB testing.

Additionally, the guidance suggests practice staff should receive more education and support in promoting the BCG and TB testing in eligible groups, including arranging home visits to give information and advice to disadvantage people about the importance of immunisation, to be carried out by community‑based healthcare staff or nurses.

A key theme of the guidance is to better reach out to the public to provide information to at risk groups, which also suggests that national organisations, such as TB Alert, Public Health England, Department of Health and NHS Choices, should work together to develop materials with up-to-date messages about TB to be made freely available to the public.

Professor Andrew Hayward, chair of guidelines advisory panel, said: “We know what needs to be done to address the problem of TB in England; identify cases earlier, support patients through prolonged treatment and invest in co-ordinated services which are resourced to engage with socially complex cases.

“If rigorously applied the recommendations in this guidance will help to minimise the spread of infection, prevent the development of drug resistant disease and reduce the numbers of TB cases in the UK.”