MPs are demanding a return of tuberculosis vaccinations as cases of the lung disease rise.
In the East London borough of Newham the incidence is higher than in Algeria and Peru.
Last year one person died in Wales. This led to the screening of 700 residents and 29 local cases being confirmed.
In 2005 the BCG vaccine, costing only £3 a dose and at one time given to all children under 16, stopped being routinely administered.
But in London, where 2,200 of the annual 5,200 cases were diagnosed, 22 of the capital’s 32 boroughs give the jab.
Now Tory MP Craig Mackinlay is launching a campaign to have it reinstated across he land.
The South Thanet MP said: “Children nowadays are more likely to travel the world or stay in London where the incidence is high.”
He added: “It’s nonsensical that universal vaccination is considered the right thing to do in much of London, but not elsewhere. Routine vaccination should be the norm.”
BCG is named after its French inventors and stands for Bacillus Calmette-Guérin.
The Department of Health said: “We target those most at risk from exposure. There are no plans to extend this further.”
