LONDON<$> — Tuberculosis is making an “alarming” comeback in Britain, decades after doctors came close to eradicating the disease, public health officials said yesterday.More than 8,000 people were infected last year by the airborne disease, one of the biggest killers in the Victorian era when it was known as White Death due to the pallor which shrouded its victims.

The Health Protection Agency said the number of TB cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland jumped more than 10 percent in 2005, with South Asians most at risk. “An increase of this magnitude over the course of one year is a concern,” said the HPA.