WHO: Global Tuberculosis Cases Hit Highest Number Since Monitoring Began in 1995

New cases of tuberculosis globally reached a record high in 2023, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
“This represents a notable increase from 7.5 million reported in 2022, placing TB again as the leading infectious disease killer in 2023, surpassing COVID-19,” the WHO stated.
The total number of people falling ill with tuberculosis has been rising since 2021, the report said. Last year, 10.8 million individuals contracted the disease, a small increase from 10.7 million in the previous year, but much higher than the 10.1 million in 2020.
The WHO noted that most of the increase in TB cases between 2022 and 2023 reflected population growth. The rate of incidence largely remained similar in both years.
Just five nations accounted for 56 percent of new annual tuberculosis cases—India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, and Pakistan.
Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, director of the organization’s Global Tuberculosis Program, called the numbers a “sobering reality,” stressing the need for collective action to deal with the issue. There is an “urgent need to tackle drug-resistant tuberculosis, a significant driver of antimicrobial resistance.”
“Reductions in the number of deaths from TB since 2022 and the slowing increase in the TB incidence rate are the result of substantial post-COVID recovery in TB diagnosis and treatment,” the report said.
The WHO noted that a key barrier to plugging diagnostic and treatment gaps among TB-affected individuals is the financial costs. Roughly 50 percent of individuals face medical costs that are more than 20 percent of their annual incomes, which the WHO called “catastrophic.”
“During 2020, TB case counts and incidence rates declined substantially, likely because of factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, TB case counts and incidence partially rebounded, but remained lower compared with 2019,” the agency said.
“In 2022, reported TB cases and incidence rates increased for the second year in a row, but remained lower compared with 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Symptoms include a cough that lasts for three weeks or longer, weakness or fatigue, coughing up blood, loss of appetite, fever, chills, and chest pain. The CDC warns that active TB can be fatal without proper treatment.
In many cases, the individuals had latent TB before the disease became active, by which time it had spread to other individuals.