RECENTLY it has been announced in the national press that TB is on the increase.
Since the 1950s, when people were subjected to mass X-rays, new ‘miracle’ drugs were made available, and school children were routinely given the TB vaccination, the low incidence of the disease kept falling year after year.
Mass X-rays are no longer needed and it appeared that everything was under control.
I came across an article in the Sunday Express, from May 9 1976 where it is reported: “Even the orthodox and respected Lancet journal... advocated that mass TB vaccination should be allowed quietly to disappear”.
Should we restart the programme again and hopefully keep TB at bay? After all, the elderly and the vulnerable get their flu jabs, which appear to be controlling any epidemic getting out of hand. As far as I am aware, the TB vaccine is only taken once – and it could be a life-saver.
VIM RODRIGO, Rivermead Road, Rose Hill Oxford
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