About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) is the third release of quarterly official statistics in development on tuberculosis (TB) notifications in Scotland. This release presents provisional data from the national enhanced surveillance system for TB in Scotland. This is in addition to an annual TB surveillance report which is published by PHS. The content of these reports will be reviewed and developed over time following feedback from stakeholders and user engagement.

Main points

Data in 2023 and quarter 1 to quarter 3 (September) in 2024 shows that:

  • There were 198 TB notifications in quarter 1 to 3 of 2024.  
  • Tuberculosis notifications in quarter 1 to 3 of 2024 decreased by 2.9% when compared with quarter 1 to 3 in 2023 when there were 204 TB notifications. 
  • The percentage of TB notifications in quarter 1 to 3 of 2024 that were male was 63.6% compared with 55.4% in quarter 1 to 3 of 2023. 
  • In quarter 1 to 3 of 2024, TB notifications were received from 10 NHS boards. 
  • Most TB notifications in quarter 1 to 3 of 2024 were from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (40.4%) and NHS Lothian (18.2%).   
  • The percentage of TB notifications presenting with pulmonary disease in quarter 1 to 3 of 2024 was 44.9% compared with 56.9% in quarter 1 to 3 of 2023.

Overall numbers

The number of TB notifications per quarter for Scotland are shown in Figure 1 and the cumulative number of notifications by month in Figure 2.

There were 198 TB notifications in quarter 1 to 3 of 2024, which is a decrease of 2.9% when compared with the quarter 1 to 3 of 2023 when there were 204 notifications.

Table 1. TB notifications in Scotland by quarter, January 2019 to quarter 2, 2024

Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Q1 61 58 44 50 45 54
Q2 55 44 66 50 77 84
Q3 60 56 67 56 82 60
Q4 68 60 48 45 79 -
Total 244 218 225 201 283
Image caption Figure 1. TB notifications in Scotland by quarter, January 2019 to quarter 3 2024
Image caption Figure 2. Cumulative TB notifications in Scotland by month, January 2019 to September 2024

TB notifications by sex

The percentage of TB notifications in the quarter 1 to 3 of 2024 that were male was 63.6% compared with 55.4% in quarter 1 to 3 of 2023.

Geographical distribution

Figure 3 shows the TB notifications in Scotland each quarter by NHS board. In quarter 1 to 3 of 2024:

  • TB notifications were received from 10 NHS boards.
  • Most TB notifications were from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (40.4%) and NHS Lothian (18.2%).
  • There were no TB notifications from four NHS boards in quarter 1 to 3 of 2024 (NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland and NHS Western Isles).
  • Compared with quarter 1 to 3 of 2023, TB notifications decreased in seven NHS boards (NHS Borders, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Grampian, NHS Highlands, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland) but increased in four NHS Boards (NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Tayside).

 

Image caption Figure 3. Number of TB notifications in Scotland by NHS boards by quarter, January 2019 to quarter 3 2024

Site of TB disease 

Figure 4 shows the proportion of TB notifications in Scotland with pulmonary and non-pulmonary disease by quarter. In the quarter 1 to 3 of 2024, 44.9% of TB notifications presented with pulmonary disease compared with 56.9% in quarter 1 to 3 of 2023.

Image caption Figure 4. Proportion of TB notifications in Scotland by site of disease, January 2019 to quarter 3 2024

Further information

The next release of this publication will be 30 January 2025.

General enquiries

If you have an enquiry relating to this publication, please email phs.tb@phs.scot.

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Older versions of this publication

Versions of this publication released before 16 March 2020 may be found on the Data and Intelligence, Health Protection Scotland or Improving Health websites.

Last updated: 25 October 2024
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