Global TB Recovery in 2022 after COVID-Related Disruptions

• 10 Nov 2023

The number of people diagnosed with TB and treated globally in 2022 showed significant recovery following COVID-related disruptions in the previous years, as reported in the recent WHO Global TB Report.

• However, TB remains the second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, and global TB targets remain unmet.

Key Points

• Global TB Diagnoses and Treatment Improve in 2022:` The global number of people newly diagnosed with TB in 2022 reached 7.5 million, the highest since the WHO began monitoring in 1995.
• This figure surpassed the pre-COVID baseline of 7.1 million in 2019, indicating a significant increase from 2020 and 2021. The 2022 numbers likely include individuals with delayed diagnoses due to COVID-related disruptions in health services.
• Recovery in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines: India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, responsible for a substantial reduction in TB cases in 2020 and 2021, saw a recovery in 2022, surpassing 2019 levels.
• TB caused an estimated 1.30 million deaths in 2022, nearly returning to the 2019 level. COVID-related disruptions led to nearly half a million excess TB-related deaths from 2020 to 2022.
• Improved Treatment Success Rates: The report highlights improved treatment success rates, with an 88% success rate for drug-susceptible TB and 63% for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB) cases.
• To end the global TB epidemic, the report emphasizes the need to translate commitments from the 2023 UN high-level meeting on TB into actionable measures.