The world's second deadliest infectious disease...

The 2023 Global Tuberculosis Report published by the WHO includes data from 92 countries and regions.

The report highlights that 7.5 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2022, marking the highest figure recorded since the WHO began global tuberculosis monitoring in 1995.

The report notes that there was a global improvement in the expansion of tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment services in 2022 following the Covid-19 pandemic, and states that accelerated efforts are needed to reach the new targets set in this field.

SURPASSED 2019 LEVELS

The report states that more than 60 percent of the global decline in the number of new tuberculosis diagnoses in 2020 and 2021 was linked to a decrease in cases in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, while noting that the rising tuberculosis cases in these countries in 2022 surpassed 2019 levels.

It was emphasized that while the number of deaths due to tuberculosis, including patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), was 1.4 million in 2021, this figure fell to 1.3 million in 2022.

It was stated that disruptions in treatments due to Covid-19 between 2020 and 2022 resulted in more than half a million tuberculosis-related deaths, and that tuberculosis has a fatal impact on patients with HIV.

The report highlights that while progress has been made in the development of tuberculosis diagnostic tools, medicines, and vaccines, this remains limited by the overall level of investment in the field.

STILL THE WORLD'S SECOND DEADLIEST INFECTIOUS DISEASE IN 2022

The report emphasizes that global efforts to combat tuberculosis have saved over 75 million lives since 2000, but notes that more effort is needed to fight the disease, which remained the world's second deadliest infectious disease in 2022.

The report states that despite significant improvements in the fight against tuberculosis in 2022, progress in meeting the global tuberculosis targets set in 2018 has been insufficient due to disruptions caused by the pandemic and ongoing conflicts.

The report notes a 19 percent decline in tuberculosis-related deaths from 2015 to 2022, while emphasizing that this remains far behind the WHO's target of a 75 percent reduction in tuberculosis-related deaths by 2025.

The report also notes that less than half of the targeted funding for tuberculosis services and research has been mobilized.

“WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE THE FINAL CHAPTER”

In the report, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recalled that for many years, past generations suffered and died from tuberculosis without knowing what the disease was, what caused it, or how to prevent it.

Ghebreyesus stated, "Today, we possess the knowledge and tools that our ancestors could only dream of. We have the political will, and we have an opportunity that no generation in human history has ever had. We have the opportunity to write the final chapter in the story of tuberculosis."

News Source: AA