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Child receives tuberculosis vaccination (symbolic image)
Photo: Chaideer Mahyuddin / AFP
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 10.6 million people contracted tuberculosis last year. The number has risen – a consequence of the corona pandemic, according to the WHO. After years of decreasing numbers, there had already been an increase to 2021.10 million new cases of the disease in 3. This is due to the fact that medical tuberculosis care has been restricted in many countries in the wake of the pandemic, the WHO explained in Geneva on its annual tuberculosis report. According to the WHO, health care disruptions during the pandemic years have led to almost half a million additional tuberculosis deaths.
According to the report, the number of detected diseases and treatments increased significantly again last year. This also had an impact on the deaths. In 2022, 1.3 million people died from the treatable infectious disease, about 100,000 fewer than the year before.
New cases mainly in Asia and Africa
However, progress has been too slow to meet the internationally agreed targets to control the disease, the WHO noted. This is not only due to the ongoing aftermath of the pandemic, but also to current armed conflicts. According to the report, the number of deaths fell by only 2015 percent between 2022 and 19, well below the 75 percent targeted by 2025.
Tuberculosis is one of the most common infectious diseases. The bacteria are transmitted by sick people through droplet infection, for example through coughing. The disease, which mainly affects the lungs, sometimes only breaks out years after infection. Tuberculosis is preventable and treatable. Without treatment, about half of patients die.
Last year, 87 percent of new cases were in countries in Asia and Africa. The WHO estimates that only 2.2 percent of global cases occurred in Europe.
ani/dpa