"Mine was quite a famous case and I took legal action against the hospital. It was settled out of court but I'm not allowed to say how much compensation they eventually paid.
"I was in isolation for three months and everyone had to be gowned and masked up to come and see me.
"I think it was my anger that pulled me through. I was determined to see some sort of justice and that kept me going and gave me a focus."

But the dramas didn't stop there for Paul. When he eventually got out of hospital he found he was homeless and had to stay in a hostel. He has since rebuilt his life and career and has even found time to write two books 'The Rights and Responsibilities of HIV Infected Health Workers' and 'The Tuberculosis Handbook'. He also helped set up the TB Network.

"There was nowhere else for people with TB to go which answered their questions. We get enquiries from people around the world. Anything from airlines wanting to know how they can make their aircraft safer to little old ladies who had TB years ago as well as people newly-infected and health professionals.

"With HIV there's a choice about which treatments to take but with TB there really isn't any choice. It's a notifiable disease, a public health risk and if you don't take your medications you can become seriously infectious again and end up being incarcerated."

A second edition of Paul Mayho's Tuberculosis Survival Handbook was published in March 2006