From Tuberculosis annual report for Scotland 2024 published yesterday, the above graph and:

In 2024, 266 cases of tuberculosis were reported in Scotland, equating to an annual incidence of 4.8 cases per 100,000 population. Whilst this is a 6.0% decrease in case numbers compared to 2023 (283 cases, 5.1 cases per 100,000 population), it is a 33.7% increase since 2022, (199 cases, 3.7 cases per 100,000 population) and a return to levels last observed in Scotland in 2018.

In 2024, 75.2% of tuberculosis cases in Scotland were born outside of the UK, the highest proportion recorded since surveillance began. Of these, 88.6% were born in countries currently classified as high tuberculosis incidence (>150 cases per 100,000 population) countries. Scotland and the UK has a diverse population with strong connections to several of these high tuberculosis incidence countries, which underscores the importance of effective preventative strategies such as new entrant LTBI testing and treatment.

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/tuberculosis-annual-report-for-scotland/tuberculosis-annual-report-for-scotland-2024/

In England in the same period the figure was 5 480, more than twice the level proportionate to population.

While the Scottish report suggests 75.2% of the cases came from outside the UK, it does not tell us what percentage arrived from England into Scotland. Visit Scotland estimated 4.38million cross border trips by English residents to Scotland in 2024.

As with so many phenomena – measles, cheap drugs and associated extreme violence and Nigel Farage every hour or so on TV broadcasts – the case is made again for independence and some border control.

Footnote – the fall in TB cases, strongly correlated with poverty, after Labour’s defeat in 2007, from pushing 500 to fewer than 300 cases, a 40% fall, is just another indicator of Labour’s hopelessness.