COVID-19

Tuberculosis deaths rise due to COVID-19 pandemic

The WHO 2021 Global TB report states that 1.5 million people died from TB in 2020 (including 214000 among HIV positive people).

ByIFP Bureau

Updated 19 Oct 2021, 8:20 am

(Representational Image: Unsplash)
(Representational Image: Unsplash)

 

Tuberculosis deaths the world over have increased for the first time in over a decade due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the WHO 2021 Global TB report. It states that 1.5 million people died from TB in 2020 (including 214000 among HIV positive people).

The report states that in 2020, more people died from TB, with far fewer people being diagnosed and treated or provided with TB preventive treatment compared with 2019, and overall spending on essential TB services falling.

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The increase in the number of TB deaths occurred mainly in the 30 countries with the highest burden of TB. WHO modelling projections suggest the number of people developing TB and dying from the disease could be much higher in 2021 and 2022.

The report states the challenges faced, the first being disruption in access to TB services and a reduction in resources. In many countries, human, financial and other resources have been reallocated from tackling TB to the COVID-19 response, limiting the availability of essential services, it says.

The second is that people have struggled to seek care in the context of lockdowns, the WHO says.

“This report confirms our fears that the disruption of essential health services due to the pandemic could start to unravel years of progress against tuberculosis… This is alarming news that must serve as a global wake-up call to the urgent need for investments and innovation to close the gaps in diagnosis, treatment and care for the millions of people affected by this ancient but preventable and treatable disease,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

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The WHO stated in a release that the challenges with providing and accessing essential TB services have meant that many people with TB were not diagnosed in 2020. The number of people newly diagnosed with TB and those reported to national governments fell from 7.1 million in 2019 to 5.8 million in 2020.

WHO estimates that some 4.1 million people currently suffer from TB but have not been diagnosed with the disease or have not officially reported to national authorities. This figure is up from 2.9 million in 2019.

The countries that contributed most to the global reduction in TB notifications between 2019 and 2020 were India (41%), Indonesia (14%), the Philippines (12%) and China (8%). These and 12 other countries accounted for 93% of the total global drop in notifications.

There was also a reduction in provision of TB preventive treatment. Some 2.8 million people accessed this in 2020, a 21% reduction since 2019.  In addition, the number of people treated for drug-resistant TB fell by 15%, from 177 000 in 2019 to 150 000 in 2020, equivalent to only about 1 in 3 of those in need.

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WHOhealthCovid-19 pandemictuberculosisTB deaths

IFP Bureau

IFP Bureau

IMPHAL, Manipur

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