Global tuberculosis deaths increased for 1st time in decade: WHO

Global deaths from tuberculosis (TB) have increased for the first time in over a decade and the coronavirus pandemic has reversed years of progress in tackling TB, according to a report from the World Health Organization (WHO), reported Xinhua.

The WHO Global TB Report 2021, released on Thursday, shows that more people died from TB in 2020, with far fewer people being diagnosed and treated or provided with preventive treatment than in 2019, and overall global spending on essential TB services has been falling.

The WHO estimates that in 2020, 1.3 million HIV-negative people died of TB, up from 1.2 million in 2019, while an additional 214,000 deaths were recorded among HIV-positive people, up from 209,000 in 2019. The situation is predicted to be much worse in 2021 and 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The increase in cases is due to the disruption of access to TB services, and a reduction in resources which have been redirected from tackling TB to COVID-19 response, WHO says. People have also struggled to seek care during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Another challenge has been TB diagnosis. WHO estimates that some 4.1 million people currently suffer from TB but have not been diagnosed with the disease, or have not officially reported it to national authorities. This figure is up from 2.9 million in 2019.

The countries that contributed most to the global reduction in TB notifications between 2019 and 2020 were India, Indonesia, the Philippines and China, which together with 12 other countries accounted for 93 percent of the total global drop in notifications.

In 2014 and 2015, WHO and the United Nations adopted the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO's End TB Strategy. These both aimed for a 90-percent reduction in TB deaths, and an 80-percent reduction in the TB incidence rate by 2030, compared to the 2015 baseline. Milestones for 2020 include a 20-percent reduction in the TB incidence rate and a 35-percent reduction in TB deaths.

However, these global TB targets appear increasingly out of reach, WHO warns.

"This report confirms our fears that the disruption of essential health services due to the pandemic could start to unravel years of progress against tuberculosis," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

"This is alarming news that must serve as a global wake-up call to the urgent need for investments and innovation to close the gaps in diagnosis, treatment and care for the millions of people affected by this ancient but preventable and treatable disease," he said.