TB replaces Covid as top killer, says WHO report

INDIA tops the list of 30 countries with high burden of tuberculosis cases, according to the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) report.

- KAVITA BAJELI-DATT

The WHO's Global Tuberculosis Report 2023 report also said that TB has overtaken Covid-19 as the leading infectious disease killer in 2023. Approximately 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB in 2023, the highest number since the organisation began global TB monitoring in 1995. This represents a notable increase from 7.5 million in 2022.

With the disease disproportionately affecting people in 30 high-burden countries, India (26%), Indonesia (10%), China (6.8%), the Philippines (6.8%) and Pakistan (6.3%) together accounted for 56% of the global TB burden, the report released on Tuesday said.

Of those who developed TB, 55% were men, 33% were women, and 12% were children and young adolescents, said the report, which highlighted mixed progress in the global fight against TB, with persistent challenges like significant underfunding. The report findings have come when India has set 2025 as its target year for TB elimination, five years ahead of the target set by SDG.