WHO: Global tuberculosis cases rose by 4.5% in 2021 — first increase in nearly 20 years

October 28

22:48 2022

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) says there was an increase in the number of people who fell ill from tuberculosis in 2021.

According to the WHO’s world tuberculosis report, an estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with tuberculosis in 2021, an increase of 4.5 percent from 2020.

The report added that 1.6 million people died from tuberculosis, including 187,000 among HIV positive people.

“The burden of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) also increased by 3% between 2020 and 2021, with 450 000 new cases of rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) in 2021,” the report reads.

“This is the first time in many years an increase has been reported in the number of people falling ill with TB and drug resistant TB. TB services are among many others disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, but its impact on the TB response has been particularly severe.

“Ongoing conflicts across Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East have further exacerbated the situation for vulnerable populations.

“The number of people provided with treatment for RR-TB and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) has also declined between 2019 and 2020. The reported number of people started on treatment for RR-TB in 2021 was 161 746, only about one in three of those in need.”

Tereza Kasaeva, the director of the WHO’s global tuberculosis programme, said this increase in cases was occurring for the “first time in nearly two decades”, adding that this was now a “pivotal moment” in the fight against the disease.

The agency, however, said in the midst of stalling progress, there are some successes.

“26.3 million people were treated for TB between 2018 and 2021, still far short of the 40 million targets set for 2018–2022 at the UN High-Level Meeting on TB,” the WHO said.

“Of the number of people provided with TB preventive treatment rebounded in 2021 to close to 2019 levels, but the cumulative total of 12.5 million between 2018 and 2021 was still far from the target of 30 million by the end of 2022.

“More positively, TB preventive treatment for people living with HIV has far surpassed the global target of 6 million in the period 2018-2022, reaching more than 10 million in only 4 years.

“Seven countries – India, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe – collectively accounted for 82% of those started on preventive treatment in 2021.”