A TB Action Plan For Scotland: ANNUAL REPORT / 2013

3. Performance against the ECDC Indicators and Targets

3.1 Scotland successfully met two of the four epidemiological indicators, and seven of the 10 core indicators, set out by the ECDC.

3.2 Key areas of good performance are:

• Stable numbers of MDR-TB.
• A decline in the ratio of notification rates in children to adults generally decreasing over past 10 years. Ratio in 2002 was 0.36, ratio in 2012 was 0.14.
• Availability of national strategies, guidance, quality control and reporting systems.
• More than 80% of new pulmonary tuberculosis cases are confirmed by culture (80.2% in 2012).

3.3 Key challenges are:

• Mean age generally increasing over the past 10 years, (2002, 40 years; 2012, 35 years). However, the age of those born in the UK is increasing whilst those born outside the UK is decreasing.
• Treatment success rates for pulmonary smear positive cases are 75.6% in 2011, against a target of 85%.
• Integrated care for TB/HIV co-infection: data on HIV status of TB cases is not known at a national level in real time in Scotland. This information is likely to be known at a Board level but is not collected at HPS.

3.4 Further detail is available in the HPS report on progress against the ECDC indicators and targets in Annex C.