WHO Report, surge in TB cases worldwide

As a recently published WHO report detailed, the global tally of new tuberculosis diagnoses reached 8.2 million in 2023. This marks the highest number recorded since the WHO initiated global monitoring in 1995. The 2023 figure represents a notable increase from the 7.5 million reported in the previous year, while TB-related deaths decreased from 1.32 million in 2022 to 1.25 million in 2023. According to the Report’s assessment, TB is currently ‘probably the leading cause of death caused by a single infectious agent’. A total of 30 countries have been identified as having high tuberculosis (TB) rates, accounting for 87% of all cases. Of these countries, five account for 56% of the total: India (26%), Indonesia (10%), China (6.8%), the Philippines (6.8%), and Pakistan (6.3%). The report found that 55% of individuals diagnosed with TB were male, 33% were female, and 12% were children or young adolescents. A substantial proportion of new cases can be attributed to five primary risk factors: malnutrition, HIV infection, alcohol use disorders, smoking (particularly prevalent among men), and diabetes. Tackling these problems, together with critical issues such as poverty and the lack of funding for research and patient care in underdeveloped countries, requires coordinated multi-sectoral action, as Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the WHO Global Tuberculosis Programme, points out.