Tuberculosis cases hit record high: WHO

GENEVA: A record 8.2 million new tuberculosis cases were diagnosed worldwide last year, the World Health Organisation said -- the highest number since it began global TB monitoring in 1995.

The WHO said its Global Tuberculosis Report 2024, released on Tuesday, highlights “mixed progress in the global fight against TB, with persistent challenges such as significant underfunding”.

While the number of TB-related deaths declined from 1.32 million in 2022 to 1.25 million last year, the total number of people contracting the infectious disease increased from 7.5 million to 8.2 million.

However, not all new cases are diagnosed, and WHO estimates that around 10.8 million people actually contracted the disease last year. “The fact that TB still kills and sickens so many people is an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent it, detect it and treat it,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

“WHO urges all countries to make good on the concrete commitments they have made to expand the use of those tools, and to end TB.”The increase in cases between 2022 and 2023 largely reflects global population growth, the report said.

Last year the TB incidence rate was 134 new cases per 100,000 people -- a 0.2-percent increase compared to 2022. The disease disproportionately affects people in 30 high-burden countries.