Tuberculosis Transmission

Your item on the new WHO Guidelines to address the risk of tuberculosis transmission during air travel was somewhat misleading. The guidelines make clear that no cases of active TB are known to have been acquired on aircraft. There have thus been no ‘TB outbreaks’ on airlines as suggested in paragraph 6. The guidelines are based on tuberculin skin test results of people who travelled on the same plane as a person who was subsequently identified as having infectious TB. These do indeed suggest that transmission of infection can occur in certain situations - hence the guidelines.

Jane Leese FRCP, Senior Medical Officer, HP3A Team, Department of Health, London