World Health Organization (WHO) insisted as the March 24 Tuberculosis (TB) Day looms over that the disease remains one of the deadliest infectious maladies globally, causing 1.25 million deaths and 10.8 million cases in 2023, with significant impacts on vulnerable populations, including HIV positive patients.
The Covid-19 pandemic and socioeconomic challenges have reversed years of progress in combating TB, especially in the Americas, where cases and deaths have risen sharply, the WHO also noted. Despite this, global efforts have saved 79 million lives since 2000, and advancements in shorter, fully oral treatments offer hope. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) emphasizes innovation, early diagnosis, and person-centered care as key to eliminating the ailment. Globally, about 3,500 people lose their lives to tuberculosis every day, and nearly 30,000 people fall ill from this preventable and curable disease.
According to the World Health Organization’s World TB Report 2024, there were an estimated 10.8 million cases worldwide and 1.25 million deaths, including some 161,000 among people living with HIV.
The Report highlights mixed progress in the global fight against TB, with persistent challenges such as significant underfunding. While the number of TB-related deaths decreased from 1.32 million in 2022 to 1.25 million in 2023, the total number of people falling ill with TB rose slightly to an estimated 10.8 million in 2023. With the disease disproportionately affecting people in 30 high-burden countries, India (26%), Indonesia (10%), China (6.8%), the Philippines (6.8%) and Pakistan (6.3%) together accounted for 56% of the global TB burden. According to the report, 55% of people who developed TB were men, 33% were women and 12% were children and young adolescents.
In the Americas, an estimated 342,000 people were estimated to be ill with TB in 2023, an increase of 20% compared to 2015, with a gap of 76,000 undiagnosed and untreated people. The region has recovered and exceeded case reporting compared to pre-pandemic levels; the highest number of cases was reported in 2023 since the WHO has records for the region. The number of people affected by the disease continues to increase, and deaths remain high. Also, about 35,000 people died from this cause, (44% increase compared to 2015), of which 29% (10,000) were attributed to TB/HIV; it is estimated that every day, about 100 people lose their lives to TB and about 900 people become ill with this preventable and curable disease.
The data show that the TB situation in the Americas is complex and deserves immediate attention. However, there are reasons to maintain an optimistic outlook. Tools and technologies are available that can help accelerate the response towards the end of TB.
World TB Day, observed annually on March 24, amplifies the urgency of ending tuberculosis, the world’s deadliest infectious disease. TB continues to devastate millions globally, inflicting severe health, social, and economic consequences.
Tuberculosis (TB) and Covid-19 are both infectious diseases that primarily attack the lungs. They have similar symptoms such as cough, fever, and difficulty breathing. TB, however, has a longer incubation period with a slower onset of disease.
While experience on Covid-19 infection in TB patients remains limited, it is anticipated that people ill with both maladies may have poorer treatment outcomes, especially if TB treatment is interrupted. TB patients should take precautions as advised by health authorities to be protected from Covid-19 and continue their TB treatment as prescribed.
Health services, including national programs to combat TB, need to be actively engaged in ensuring an effective and rapid response to Covid-19 while ensuring that TB services are maintained. The WHO’s Global TB Program, along with WHO regional and country offices, has developed an information note to assist health authorities in doing so.
In 2023, the gap between the estimated number of new TB cases and those reported narrowed to about 2.7 million, down from COVID-19 pandemic levels of around 4 million in 2020 and 2021. This follows substantial national and global efforts to recover from COVID-related disruptions to TB services. The coverage of TB preventive treatment has been sustained for people living with HIV and continues to improve for household contacts of people diagnosed with TB.
However, multidrug-resistant TB remains a public health crisis. Treatment success rates for multidrug-resistant or rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB) have now reached 68%. But, of the 400 000 people estimated to have developed MDR/RR-TB, only 44% were diagnosed and treated in 2023.
Global funding for TB prevention and care decreased further in 2023 and remains far below target. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which bear 98% of the TB burden, faced significant funding shortages. Only US$ 5.7 billion of the US$ 22 billion annual funding target was available in 2023, equivalent to only 26% of the global target.
The WHO Global tuberculosis report 2024 provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic and of progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease, at global, regional and country levels. This is done in the context of global TB commitments, strategies and targets.
The 2024 edition of the report is, as usual, based primarily on data gathered by WHO from national ministries of health in annual rounds of data collection. In 2024, 193 countries and areas with more than 99% of the world’s population and TB cases reported data.