AMAZON workers in Coventry have tested positive for the ‘Victorian Disease’.
Even so, the site has continued to operate as normal – here’s everything you need to know.
Amazon workers at the Coventry warehouse have tested positive for tuberculosis (TB), dubbed the ‘Victorian Disease’, prompting union demands for an immediate site shutdown.
A number of TB cases have been reported, with NHS staff attending the site to perform blood tests.
Around 2,000 employees work at the site, including roughly 700 GMB members.
In September 2025, Amazon confirmed that 10 people had tested positive for non-contagious TB.
What is the ‘Victorian Disease’?
The ‘Victorian Disease’ refers to TB, a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
The disease primarily affects the lungs, but can spread to other parts of the body including the lymph nodes, bones, and even the nervous system.
TB spreads through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks, releasing tiny droplets containing the bacteria, though only active cases are contagious.
Symptoms develop gradually and include a persistent cough, chest pains, fatigue, fever, night sweats, weight loss, loss of appetite, swelling of lymph nodes, blood in urine, back pain, headaches, confusion and a hoarse voice.
Why is tuberculosis the ‘Victorian Disease’?
Tuberculosis earned the nickname Victorian Disease due to its rampant prevalence during the era.
In 19th-century Britain, poor sanitation, overcrowding in industrial cities, malnutrition and inadequate housing fuelled massive outbreaks.
Known then as ‘consumption‘ for the rapid weight loss it can cause, TB killed between a quarter and a third of tradesmen and labourers in England in the late 1830s, claiming millions of lives amid rapid urbanisation and poverty.
It was called the ‘Great White Plague’ or ‘White Death’ for the pallor it inflicted on victims.
The bacterium was identified in 1882, leading to public health campaigns like anti-spitting drives.
Are we at risk of the disease spreading?
Experts from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) assess the overall risk from the Amazon Coventry site as low.
Amazon is putting all workers, site visitors, and the local and wider communities at risk of exposure to a serious infectious disease
Amanda Gearing, GMB union’s senior organiser
Dr Roger Gajraj of UKHSA West Midlands stated: “The small number of individuals affected by tuberculosis are responding well to treatment and are no longer infectious, so pose no onward risk.”
However, GMB union’s senior organiser Amanda Gearing warned: “Currently, Amazon is putting all workers, site visitors, and the local and wider communities at risk of exposure to a serious infectious disease.
“Coventry Amazon risks becoming the engine room of a mass TB outbreak on a scale not seen for decades.
“Immediate and decisive action – including the temporary closure of Amazon Coventry – is required to prevent this.”
While Your Party MP for Coventry South, Zarah Sultana, called it “outrageous” that the Coventry Amazon warehouse isn’t closing.
She said: “This is a corporation that clearly thinks it’s above the law, forcing people into conditions that belong in the Victorian era.”
Symptoms of TB to know and how to protect yourself
TB is a potentially serious condition, but it can be cured if it’s treated with the right antibiotics
According to the NHS, the symptoms of TB include:
- A persistent cough that lasts more than three weeks and usually brings up phlegm, which may be bloody
- Feeling tired or exhausted
- A high temperature and night sweats
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Feeling generally unwell
There is a shot to protect you against tuberculosis called the BCG vaccine.
It’s given during childhood and is currently the most widely used shot globally.
It is no longer offered to secondary school kids in the UK and instead only targets young children deemed most at risk.
The NHS recommends it for the following groups:
- Babies who live in areas of the UK where TB is more common
- Babies and children who live with someone who has TB
- Babies and children who were born or lived in a country where TB is more common
- Babies and children whose parents or grandparents were born in a country where TB is more common
- People aged 35 and under who are spending more than 3 months in a country where TB is more common
- People at risk of getting TB through their work, such as healthcare workers who work with people who have TB
A spokesperson for Amazon said: “Last year, a small number of people who work at our Coventry fulfilment centre tested positive for TB.
“In line with best practice safety procedures, we immediately followed guidance from the NHS and UKHSA and made all potentially affected employees aware of the situation.
“Those affected by TB responded well to treatment and are no longer infectious, posing no onward risk.
“As a precaution, we are running an expanded screening programme with the NHS this month.
“To date, no additional cases have been identified, and our site continues to run as normal.
“We will continue to follow guidance from the experts in the NHS, and would respectfully remind public organisations of the need for responsible communications where matters of public wellbeing are concerned.”
TB is treatable and poses a low risk of community transmission outside high-exposure settings such as the Amazon warehouse.
