The rising global threat from tuberculosis

Tuberculosis could replace Covid-19 as the leading cause of deaths worldwide from a single infectious agent, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).

TB killed 1.6 million around the world in 2021, which marked the third consecutive year of rising levels of TB deaths. WHO estimated that approximately 10.6 million people were infected with tuberculosis in 2021, up 4.5% from 2020.

Global efforts to combat TB were minimized over the past two years as Covid occupied the health safety concerns, but WHO stated that the lessons of the pandemic could be used to reverse the rising TB rates.

“If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that with solidarity, determination, innovation and the equitable use of tools, we can overcome severe health threats,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Photo by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free