MS prevalence was considerably lower among Black and South Asian populations, compared to the White population, by 59% and 84%, respectively. However, compared to available data in Africa and South Asia, MS is several times more prevalent among Black people and South Asians living in the United Kingdom than their territorial ancestry.

BackgroundThere is a perceived consensus that the incidence and prevalence rates of MS in countries with a White majority are lower in the minority ethnic population than in the White population. Often-cited UK-based studies relevant to this were conducted over twenty years ago. In our study we update the UK-based literature.MethodsElectronic records from GPs in the four innermost east London boroughs were queried for the number of patients with an MS diagnosis, grouped by ethnicity, into 5-year age bands. Compared against total registered GP patients in the area (c.900K), we calculated the age-standardised MS prevalence separately, for White, Black and South Asian populations.ResultsOverall prevalence was 111 per 100K (152 for women, 70 for men). This was 180, 74, and 29 for the White, Black and South Asian populations respectively. The sex ratios (female:male) were 2.2:1, 2.1:1 and 2.8:1 respectively.ConclusionInner east London is an ideal area to study ethnicity-specific prevalence, with a population that is 36% White, 16% Black, 30% South Asian and 18% Other. MS prevalence was considerably lower amongst Black and South Asian populations, compared to the White population, by 59% and 84% respectively. Our findings are consistent with previous studies.

Of the 8.6 million new cases of tuberculosis (TB) that occur globally each year, a quarter occur in India. We describe the case of a 38-year-old Indian woman who presented with symptoms of hepatitis after being treated empirically with anti-TB therapy for five months. The patient was suspected to have TB after having recurrent episodes of coughing which would improve briefly before her respiratory symptoms returned, which led to her being treated at various healthcare clinics and hospitals. We highlight the challenges the patient faced due to the lack of centralised medical records which would have prevented unnecessary investigations and treatment.