Why Tuberculosis Remains the World's Leading Infectious Disease Killer?

 The World Health Organisation's(WHO) 2024 Global Tuberculosis Report reveals  and explains why tuberculosis (TB) remains the world's leading infectious  killer disease, surpassing COVID-19.


Five countries alone--India(26%), Indonesia(10%), China(6.8%), and Pakistan(6.3%) contributed 56 per cent of global tuberculosis burden. 55% of TB cases occurred in men, 33% in women, and 12% in children and young adolescents.


The report quoted Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus WHO Director-General as saying:"The fact thatTB still kills and sickens so many people is an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent it, detect it, and treat it."


An estimated 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB in 2023--the highest since WHO began global TB monitoring in 1995, the report says.


TB is caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is spread when people who are sick with TB expel bacteria into the air, by coughing. About a quarter of the global population is estimated to have been infected with TB.


According to the report, the number of TB-related deaths decreased from 1.32 million in 2022 to 1.25 million in 2023. The report further adds that the total number of people falling ill with TB rose slightly to an estimated 10.8 million in 2023.


Among the various challenges encountered in eradicating TB, insufficient global funding is a key factor that  observers highlight. In 2023, the total funding available was $ 5.7 billion, equivalent to only 26% of the target of reaching $22 billion by 2027 according to a recent analysis.


Inspite of the fact that the US and Global Fund are major contributors, their support is insufficient to meet essential TB service needs. The international donor funding in low and middle income countries(LMICs) remains stagnant at around $1.1 - 1.2 billion annually, experts say.


The Ministry of  Health and Family Welfare, Inda released TB Report 2024, which says:"India's efforts to ensure early detection and treatment initiation, along with a host of community engagement efforts has resulted in a decline of 16% in TB incidence and 18% reduction in mortality due to TB, since 2015."


Source : WHO, MOHFW




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