New tuberculosis cases and deaths fell in 2024, but health experts are still worried. Here’s why

The number of new tuberculosis (TB) cases worldwide fell last year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic as diagnoses and treatments rebounded, a new analysis has found.

The rate of new TB cases fell by nearly 2 per cent, while deaths fell by 3 per cent in 2024, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which tracks TB across more than 180 countries.

But the disease, which is caused by a bacteria that attacks the lungs and spreads through the air, remains a leading cause of death worldwide. An estimated 10.7 million people developed TB and 1.23 million people died last year, the report said.

That’s compared to 10.8 million new illnesses and 1.25 million deathsin 2023.

“Declines in the global burden of TB, and progress in testing, treatment, social protection, and research are all welcome news after years of setbacks, but progress is not victory,” said WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“The fact that TB continues to claim over a million lives each year, despite being preventable and curable, is simply unconscionable,” he added.

It’s estimated that a quarter of the world’s population has been infected with TB bacteria, though most people do not have symptoms. The bacteria can lie dormant in the body for years before mounting an attack.

TB is often called a “social disease” because of its close links to poverty. It spreads easily in crowded settings, and poses a greater risk to people with weakened immune systems and those suffering from malnutrition.

Last year, two-thirds of new TB cases were concentrated in just eight countries: India, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Bangladesh.

The WHO warned that cuts to global health programmes this year could undermine efforts to stamp out the disease.

Studies suggest that the cuts from wealthy countries could lead to up to two million additional deaths from TB and 10 million new illnesses over the next decade.

Dr Tereza Kasaeva, who leads the WHO’s work on HIV, TB, hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), said the world is at a “defining moment in the fight against TB”.

She called for political and financial commitments to “turn the tide and end this ancient killer once and for all”.