IN THE week when it was revealed that

13 people in just one day were diagnosed with potentially lethal tuberculosis in Bournemouth

, watchdog Public Health England claims quarterly new cases have fallen to the lowest levels since records began in 1960.

PHE said that from April 1 to June 30, provisional data showed that the south west region had 63 cases of TB, frequently regarded as a Victorian disease of poverty, recorded.

However, it did not say if those figures included the 13 homeless people from the BCP area whose conditions were detected following a drive to screen vulnerable people which took place in May.

And its figures did not appear to address a claim made by East Dorset's Lead TB Specialist Nurse, David Thomas, who said: “There is no country without TB and while the rates are dropping in some of the UK’s bigger cities, in areas with fewer TB resources such as Dorset, they’re not.”

Tuberculosis, a bacterial infection which attacks the lungs, glands and bones and can kill if not treated, was discovered amongst the 138 homeless people who turned up to a special screening session organised by the East Dorset TB team.

PHE praised the screening effort, saying: "The Dorset community pulled together to tackle this problem and because of a huge joint effort locally, nearly 140 rough sleepers were able to access a vital health and council services event."

However, PHE revealed that this number equated to roughly 55 per cent of the homeless and rough sleeping community in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch. From April to November 2018 there were estimated to be 130 people sleeping rough in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch.

"While huge strides have been made to reduce TB rates, further work needs to be done to eliminate the disease in England," said PHE. "The most deprived 10 per cent of the population have a rate of TB more than seven times higher than the least deprived ten per cent."

And homeless people are not the only group where the disease is showing up, according to the East Dorset TB unit.

It says that 20 students in ten years in the Bournemouth area have been diagnosed with TB, which remains a major global killer.