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A record 8.2 million new cases of tuberculosis have been reported worldwide in 2023, the highest number recorded since the World Health Organization (WHO) began tracking the infectious disease. in 1995, this United Nations agency said in a report made public Tuesday.
The number of TB-related deaths fell from 1.32 million in 2022 to 1.25 million in 2023, but the total number of people contracting the disease increased from 7.5 million new cases reported in 2022 to 8.2 million in 2023.
Additionally, not all new cases have been diagnosed, with the WHO estimating that some 10.8 million people will actually contract TB in 2023.
“It is a scandal that tuberculosis continues to affect and kill so many people, even though we have the tools to prevent, detect and treat it.” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
WHO”urges all countries to fulfill the concrete commitments they have made to expand the use of these tools and end TB“added Mr. Tedros.
In its report on global tuberculosis, WHO highlights persistent challenges such as underfunding.
The increase in tuberculosis cases between 2022 and 2023 reflects the growth of the world population, notes the report.
In 2023, the incidence rate of tuberculosis was 134 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, an increase of 0.2% compared to 2022.
The disease disproportionately affects populations in around 30 heavily affected countries.
Five countries, India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines and Pakistan, together account for more than half of the disease’s prevalence worldwide, with more than a quarter of cases reported in India.
According to the report, 55% of patients who contracted the disease were men, 33% women, and 12% children and adolescents.
A significant number of new cases are attributable to five major risk factors, according to the WHO: undernutrition, contamination by the HIV AIDS virus, pathologies due to alcohol consumption, diabetes, particularly in men, smoking.
The WHO is also alarmed by the significant drop in global funding for tuberculosis prevention and treatment.
Only $5.7 billion, out of an initial target of $22 billion, was available in 2023 for annual funding to fight the disease worldwide.
“In 2023, tuberculosis will once again become the infectious disease causing the most deaths in the world“, after having been supplanted for three years by Covid-19 as the most deadly contagious disease, underlines the WHO.