BAPS Charities hosted a tuberculosis (TB) screening session in collaboration with Public Health England on Saturday 19 January 2014 at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London.
Public Health England is an executive agency of the Department of Health. The PREDICT Study, which was the basis of the screening programme, is designed to try and find a way to predict which 10% of the patients with latent TB will contract the active disease.
The study planned to recruit 10,000 people at high risk of latent infection – 5,000 new entrants from high incidence countries, where TB is common, and 5,000 contacts of active TB cases. These individuals will be followed for two years to determine whether they develop the disease, and to assess their quality of life over time.
BAPS Charities has been involved in the study since July 2013 and has recruited 284 people aged between 19 and 86 years. 62 people have been identified as having the latent infection and are aged 35 years or more, where treatment is not indicated under national guidelines (NICE), but they have been informed of signs and symptoms to be aware of for active TB.
Positive results were found for six people under the age of 35 years, all of whom have been referred to hospital for treatment.
This initiative follows similar drives by BAPS Charities including a TB awareness lecture held at the same venue in 2009.
To find out more about the Predict Study, please visit predictstudy.org.uk.
To learn more about the work of Public Health England, please click here.
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