Amazon issues statement following rare 'Victorian disease' outbreak at warehouse
Several cases of a ‘Victorian disease’ have been confirmed at one of Amazon’s warehouses in the UK.
The online retailer said that 10 workers at the facility in Coventry, which employs more than 3,000 people, had tested positive for latent tuberculosis (TB) last September.
The news comes after the rates of TB in England have registered an increase in recent years. Data published in October 2025 confirmed there were 5,490 notifications of the disease in 2024, compared to 4,831 in 2023.
Once a leading killer, dubbed ‘white death’ in Victorian times, tuberculosis is now preventable and treatable with antibiotics, according to the NHS. However, the disease can have serious, long-term effects on one’s health if left untreated.
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Unlike its active counterpart, latent tuberculosis isn’t contagious. As such, Amazon decided to keep the Coventry hub in operation.
Amazon confirmed that NHS staff were called in to the facility last week to carry out blood tests amid ‘an abundance of caution,’ as a spokesperson for the online retailer said.
"In line with best practice safety procedures, we immediately followed guidance from the NHS and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and made all potentially affected employees aware of the situation," the statement read, as per the BBC.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we are currently running an expanded screening programme with the NHS.
"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."
The spokesperson also said no additional cases had since been identified and that its site continued to run as normal.
Health officials said that TB patients were ‘responding well’ to treatment and were no longer infectious.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) West Midlands consultant Dr Roger Gajraj said those who believe they have been in contact with affected workers were being offered tests.
He explained: "As a precaution, and in line with national guidance, we are offering testing to those who may have had closer contact with the affected individuals. The overall risk remains low.
"TB is fully treatable with antibiotics. We continue to work closely with Amazon to monitor the situation."
Following the decision to keep the hub up and running, Amazon has faced backlash, with the GMB Union calling for all staff to be sent home and medically suspended on full pay ‘until appropriate infection control measures are implemented to prevent the further spread of TB’.
Amanda Gearing, GMB senior organiser, said ‘immediate and decisive action, including the temporary closure of Amazon Coventry’ was required.
Zarah Sultana, Your Party MP for Coventry South, criticised Amazon’s decision to keep Coventry open as ‘outrageous’, adding that the company was treating ‘its employees as if they're disposable’.
She said: "With multiple confirmed cases on site, the warehouse must be shut down immediately and workers sent home on full pay.
"This is a corporation that clearly thinks it's above the law, forcing people into conditions that belong in the Victorian era. It's a stark reminder of why the trade union movement was founded in the first place."
Tyla has contacted Amazon for further comment.
Stefania Sarrubba