Tuberculosis deaths have risen for the first time in ten years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization has reported.
WHO’s 2021 Global TB report reveals that in 2020, more people died from TB and far fewer were diagnosed and treated or provided with TB preventive treatment compared with 2019. Spending on essential TB services also fell.
In many countries, human, financial and other resources were reallocated from tackling TB to the COVID-19 response and people also struggled to seek care due to lockdowns.
WHO found the number of people newly diagnosed with TB and those who reported their diagnosis to national governments fell from 7.1 million in 2019 to 5.8 million in 2020.
It also estimated that 4.1 million people have TB but have not been diagnosed or have not officially reported to national authorities – up from 2.9 million in 2019.
The report reveals about 1.5 million people died from TB in 2020, including 214,000 among HIV positive people, and the increase occurred mainly in the 30 countries with the highest burden of TB.
But WHO modelling projections warn the numbers of TB cases and deaths could rise further this year and in 2022.
Wake up call
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said: “This report confirms our fears that the disruption of essential health services due to the pandemic could start to unravel years of progress against tuberculosis.
“This is alarming news that must serve as a global wake-up call to the urgent need for investments and innovation to close the gaps in diagnosis, treatment and care for the millions of people affected by this ancient but preventable and treatable disease.”
The WHO report shows the reduction in provision of TB preventive treatment fell, with 2.8 million people accessing treatment in 2020, down 21% from 2019, while the numbers treated for drug-resistant TB dropped by 15%, from 177,000 in 2019 to 150,000 in 2020.
While the reversal in progress means global TB targets are off track, it reported some successes.
There was a 9.2% reduction in TB deaths between 2015 and 2020 – about one quarter of the way to the 2020 milestone of 35% – and over the same period there was an 11% drop in the number of people falling ill with TB each year, relative to population, compared to the 2020 milestone of 20%.
However, the WHO European Region exceeded the 2020 milestone, with a reduction of 25%, driven mostly by a decline in the Russian Federation, where incidence fell by 6% per year between 2010 and 2020. The WHO African Region saw a 19% reduction.
Dr Tereza Kasaeva, director of WHO’s Global TB Programme, said: “We have just one year left to reach the historic 2022 TB targets committed by heads of state at the first UN High Level Meeting on TB.
“The report provides important information and a strong reminder to countries to urgently fast-track their TB responses and save lives.
“This will be crucial as preparations begin for the 2nd UN High Level Meeting on TB mandated for 2023.”
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