According to a report by the World Health Organization, the number of people infected with tuberculosis, including the drug-resistant type, increased globally for the first time in years.
The UN health agency said more than 10 million people worldwide suffered from tuberculosis in 2021, up 4.5 percent from the previous year. About 1.6 million people died, he said. The WHO said about 450,000 cases involved people infected with drug-resistant TB, up 3% from 2020.
Dr. Mel Spigelman, president of the non-profit TB Alliance, said more than a decade of progress was lost when COVID-19 emerged in 2020.
“Despite gains in areas such as preventive therapy, we are still lagging behind on almost all commitments and goals related to tuberculosis,” Spigelman said.
The WHO also blamed COVID-19 for much of the rise in TB, saying the pandemic “continues to have a detrimental impact on access to TB diagnosis and treatment”. He said progress made before 2019 had been “slowed, stopped or reversed”.
With fewer people diagnosed with the highly infectious disease, more patients unknowingly spread TB to others in outbreaks that may have gone undetected in countries with weak health systems.
The WHO reported that the number of people newly identified with tuberculosis decreased from 7 million in 2019 to 5.8 million in 2020.
The WHO also said that COVID-19 restrictions, including lockdowns and physical distancing protocols, also hampered TB treatment services and may have caused some people to stop going to health facilities for fear of catching the coronavirus. Officials added that the downturn in the global economy was also a factor, saying that about half of all TB patients and their families face “catastrophic total costs” from their treatment. WHO called for more countries to cover all costs of TB diagnosis and treatment.
After COVID-19, tuberculosis is the deadliest infectious disease in the world. It is caused by bacteria that normally affect the lungs. Germs are mostly spread from person to person through the air, such as when an infected individual coughs or sneezes.
Tuberculosis mainly affects adults, especially those who are malnourished or have other conditions such as HIV; more than 95% of cases are in developing countries.
According to the WHO report, only one in three people with drug-resistant TB is receiving treatment.
“Drug-resistant TB is curable, but it is alarming that cases are increasing for the first time in years,” said Dr Hannah Spencer, who works with Doctors Without Borders in South Africa. “There is an urgent need for shorter, safer and more effective treatments to be scaled up now.”
Spencer called for lowering TB treatment prices so that a full course of treatment costs no more than $500.
The WHO also said ongoing conflicts in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East have worsened options for patients seeking TB diagnosis and treatment.
Ukraine had one of the world’s worst tuberculosis epidemics even before Russia invaded the country in February. Health experts fear that the inability of patients to receive treatment could fuel the rise of more drug-resistant tuberculosis in the region.
While TB patients displaced by the war can seek care in Ukraine, the country has seen a shortage of key drugs and authorities face challenges tracking patients.
RELATED: Tuberculosis deaths rise for first time in years, due to COVID-19
DiseaseHealth