• UGI USER
  • Nov 09, 2023
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Tuberculosis (TB)

News

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its Global TB Report for 2022, which highlights the impact of TB in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is TB

TB, or tuberculosis, is a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It primarily affects the lungs but can also impact other parts of the body, leading to symptoms like cough, fever, and weight loss.

Global TB Report

  • After two years of COVID-related disruptions, there was a notable global recovery in the number of people diagnosed with TB and treated in 2022.
  • However, TB remains the world’s second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, underscoring the significant global health challenge it poses.
  • Global TB targets have not been met, with the net reduction from 2015 to 2022 being just 8.7%, falling far short of the WHO’s milestone of a 50% reduction by 2025.
  • The reported number of people newly diagnosed with TB in 2022 reached 7.5 million, the highest number since WHO began global TB monitoring in 1995.
  • This figure is above the pre-COVID baseline, reflecting the impact of COVID-related disruptions on the diagnosis and treatment of TB.
  • It is suggested that the 2022 number includes a backlog of individuals who developed TB in previous years but faced delays in diagnosis and treatment due to disruptions caused by the pandemic.
  • India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, which accounted for a significant reduction in TBcases in 2020 and 2021, saw a recovery to above 2019 levels in 2022.
  • TB caused an estimated30 million deaths in 2022, nearly back to the 2019 level.
  • COVID-related disruptions are estimated to have resulted in nearly half a million excess deaths from TB between 2020 and 2022.