The World Health Organisation has warned that global progress against tuberculosis remains fragile. Even as the disease continues to be the world’s deadliest infectious killer. In its latest report, the WHO revealed that TB claimed an estimated 1.23 million lives last year. Despite slight improvements recorded worldwide.
According to the organisation, TB deaths dropped by three per cent compared to 2023. While new cases declined by nearly two per cent. In 2024, an estimated 10.7 million people developed tuberculosis, including 5.8 million men, 3.7 million women and 1.2 million children. Tuberculosis, a preventable and treatable disease, is caused by bacteria that primarily affect the lungs and spreads through the air when infected individuals cough, sneeze or spit.
The WHO noted that both cases and deaths are decreasing for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted treatment and diagnostic services. However, Tereza Kasaeva, director of the WHO department overseeing HIV, TB, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, cautioned that the gains remain vulnerable.
The report highlighted that eight countries bear two-thirds of the global TB burden. India leads with 25 per cent of cases, followed by Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bangladesh. Undernutrition, HIV infection, diabetes, smoking and alcohol use disorders continue to fuel the epidemic.
Tuberculosis also remains the leading cause of death among people living with HIV, claiming 150,000 lives last year. Meanwhile, 8.3 million people were newly diagnosed and received treatment in 2024, the highest number ever recorded. Treatment success rates improved to 71 per cent. The WHO estimates that timely TB care has saved 83 million lives since 2000.
