The number of deaths from tuberculosis has increased by more than 14% compared to 2019, warns the Health Organization (WHO).
- The disease is transmitted when people with tuberculosis project tubercle bacilli into the air, for example when coughing.
- Ongoing conflicts in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East have further aggravated the situation of vulnerable populations.
Tuberculosis has been killing people for a long time and the situation is not improving, on the contrary. L’Health Organization (WHO) reported 1.6 million deaths from last year worldwide, a return to 2017 levels.
This infectious disease is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) which mainly affects the lungs.
Tuberculosis is on the rise worldwide
In 2020, it became the second cause of death from an infectious disease, behind Covid-19 and before AIDS, according to WHO report which estimates that tuberculosis should have continued to increase in 2022.
The number of cases is also increasing: 10.6 million people fell ill with tuberculosis in 2021, an increase of 4.5% in one year. Similarly, the incidence rate of the disease (new cases per 100,000 population per year) increased by 3.6% between 2020 and 2021, after declining by around 2% per year for most of the past two decades. .
Most people who develop the disease are adults, reports the WHO. In 2021, men accounted for 56.5% of all cases, adult women 32.5% and children 11% of cases.
Many new cases of tuberculosis are attributable to five risk factors: undernutrition, HIV infection, alcohol use disorders, smoking and diabetes.
The fight against tuberculosis has been hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic
According to the WHO,this is the first time in many years that an increase in the number of people falling ill with tuberculosis and drug-resistant tuberculosis has been reported“.
Indeed, many people with the disease have not been diagnosed and have not received treatment and 450,000 new cases of resistant tuberculosis to the anti-tuberculosis antibiotic, rifampicin (tuberculosis-RR), were recorded in 2021.
In question according to the experts: the Covid pandemic, which has greatly slowed progress in the fight against tuberculosis and has limited screening and access to care.
“By working together, we can end TB“, said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who called for urgently redoubled efforts to save lives.
