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Tuberculosis
Background
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection caught from another infected person. The infection mostly occurs in the lungs and lymph glands, but can affect any part of the body. It is most common in Asia and Sub-saharan Africa, but is now becoming more common in parts of the UK. There are different forms and stages of the infection.
In the UK, the routine Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination programme delivered through schools to prevent TB has stopped. Now there is a programme of targeted vaccination for individuals who are at greatest risk. This includes children and babies living in areas with high rates of TB or whose parents or grandparents were born in a country with a high prevalence of TB. BCG vaccination does not give complete protection against TB.