WHO says tuberculosis killed 1.23 million last year, while 8.3 million people were diagnosed for the first time
Tuberculosis remains the world’s leading cause of infectious death, claiming an estimated 1.23 million lives last year, the UN health organization said while reporting that Pakistan, among eight countries, accounted for two-thirds of global tuberculosis cases.
Tuberculosis deaths are down three percent from 2023, while cases are down almost two percent, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its annual summary.
It is estimated that in 2024, 10.7 million people worldwide will become ill with tuberculosis: 5.8 million men, 3.7 million women and 1.2 million children.
Tuberculosis, a preventable and curable disease, is caused by a bacteria that most frequently affects the lungs. It spreads through the air when people with tuberculosis cough, sneeze, or spit.
Now, TB cases and deaths are declining “for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic,” which disrupted services, said Tereza Kasaeva, head of WHO’s department of HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections.
“Funding cuts and persistent drivers of the epidemic threaten to undo hard-won gains, but with political commitment, sustained investment and global solidarity, we can turn the tide and end this ancient killer once and for all,” he said.
Funding for the fight against tuberculosis has stagnated since 2020.
Last year, $5.9 billion was available for prevention, diagnosis and treatment, well below the target of $22 billion annually by 2027.
In 2024, eight countries accounted for two-thirds of global tuberculosis cases.
These were India (25 percent), Indonesia (10 percent), the Philippines (6.8 percent), China (6.5 percent), Pakistan (6.3 percent), Nigeria (4.8 percent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.9 percent) and Bangladesh (3.6 percent).
The five main risk factors driving the epidemic are malnutrition, HIV infection, diabetes, smoking and alcohol use disorders.
Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death among people with HIV; Last year the death toll rose to 150,000.
In 2024, 8.3 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis for the first time and accessed treatment. This is a record number, which the WHO attributed to the fact that a greater number of people became ill with the disease.
Last year, treatment success rates increased from 68 percent to 71 percent. The WHO estimates that timely treatment of tuberculosis has saved 83 million lives since 2000.
Vaccine research, artificial intelligence tools
“The decline in the global burden of tuberculosis and advances in testing, treatment, social protection and research are welcome news after years of setbacks, but progress is not a victory,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“The fact that tuberculosis continues to claim more than a million lives each year, despite being preventable and curable, is simply unacceptable.”
Regarding the portfolio of tests, treatments and vaccines against tuberculosis, as of August of this year, 63 diagnostic tests were being developed and 29 drugs were in clinical trials.
About 18 vaccine candidates are being tested in humans, including six in Phase III, the final stage before regulatory approval.
The BCG vaccine has long been part of routine childhood immunization programs in many countries. But despite the devastating global impact of tuberculosis, no new vaccines have been authorized in more than a century and there are no vaccines for adults.
Peter Sands, director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said: “We now have shorter, more effective treatment regimens, improved prevention strategies and cutting-edge diagnostics, including artificial intelligence-powered tools that can detect tuberculosis faster and more accurately than ever before,” he said.
“These innovations are transforming the way we fight tuberculosis, especially in resource-limited settings.”
