Tuberculosis Cases Reach Record High, WHO Reports

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 8 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis last year, marking the highest number ever recorded since the UN health agency began tracking the disease.

The latest report reveals that approximately 1.25 million people died from tuberculosis last year, making it a leading cause of death worldwide. This number is nearly double the number of people killed by HIV in 2023.

Global Distribution of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis continues to predominantly affect populations in South East Asia, Africa, and the Western Pacific. India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, and Pakistan account for more than half of the world’s cases.

“It is a scandal that tuberculosis continues to kill and sicken so many people, even though we have the tools to prevent, detect and treat it.” – WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Despite the high number of cases, the number of deaths due to tuberculosis is declining worldwide, and the number of newly infected people is beginning to stabilize. However, of the estimated 400,000 people with drug-resistant tuberculosis last year, less than half were diagnosed and treated.

Understanding Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by airborne bacteria that primarily affects the lungs. It is estimated that around a quarter of the world’s population suffers from tuberculosis, but only 5 to 10 percent of them develop symptoms.

Increasing Access to Tuberculosis Testing

Advocacy groups, including Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), have long called for increased access to affordable tuberculosis testing. MSF and 150 global health partners have urged the American company Cepheid, which produces tuberculosis tests used in poor countries, to make these tests available at a price of $5 per test to increase their availability.