TB kills more people annually than any other infectious disease

Despite great reductions in prevalence and mortality since 1990, tuberculosis is currently responsible for more annual deaths than any other infectious disease, according to a recent WHO report.

“Despite the gains, the progress made against TB is far from sufficient,” Mario Raviglione, MD, FRCP, director of WHO’s Global TB Programme, said in a press release. “We are still facing a burden of 4,400 people dying every day, which is unacceptable in an era when you can diagnose and cure nearly every person with TB.”

According to the report, which compiled data from 205 countries and territories accounting for more than 99% of the world’s population, there were 9.6 million new cases of TB in 2014. Nearly a quarter of these were among people living in India, while China and Indonesia each comprised 10% of the global total. The African Region contained 28% of TB cases in 2014, but had the highest incidence relative to population.

Although TB mortality has declined by 47% percent since 1990, there were 1.5 million deaths attributed to TB in 2014. HIV coinfection was present among 400,000 of these deaths, and 190,000 were due to multidrug-resistant TB. An estimated 3.3% of new TB cases were MDR, and only half of these were successfully treated.

Case notifications in 2014 saw a marked increase for the first time since 2007, largely attributable to a 29% increase in notifications from India. Use of the rapid test Xpert MTB/RIF, which was recommended by WHO in 2014, has increased as well. However, 37% of new TB cases and approximately three-quarters of MDR-TB cases went undiagnosed or were not reported.

Mel Spigelman

There is a $1.4 billion funding gap for implementation of existing interventions in 2015, and a $1.3 billion gap has also been identified in research and development support, according to the WHO report. In a responding statement, Mel Spigelman, MD, president and CEO of the non-profit organization TB Alliance, called on donors to continue their support in reducing the global burden of TB.

“The world is beginning to understand the severity of the TB threat, and even the End TB Strategy and Sustainable Development Goals have set out aggressive targets to eliminate it,” Spigelman wrote. “Now it’s time to see the corresponding increase in funding to deliver the improved, faster-acting and affordable TB treatments and other tools, with which we can implement these plans and stop the widespread suffering and death from this disease.” – by Dave Muoio

Reference:

WHO. Global Tuberculosis Report, 2015. Available at: http://www.who.int/tb/publications/global_report/en/. Accessed Oct. 29, 2015