10 facts on tuberculosis

20 November 2019

About one quarter of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis (TB) bacteria. Only a small proportion of those infected will become sick with TB.

People with weakened immune systems have a much greater risk of falling ill from TB. A person living with HIV is about 20 times more likely to develop active TB.

The WHO End TB Strategy, adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2014, is a blueprint for countries to end the TB epidemic by driving down TB deaths, incidence and eliminating catastrophic costs. It outlines global impact targets to reduce TB deaths by 90% and to cut new cases by 80% between 2015 and 2030, and to ensure that no family is burdened with catastrophic expenses due to TB.

On 26 September 2018, the United Nations (UN) held its first- ever high-level meeting on TB, elevating discussion about the status of the TB epidemic and how to end it to the level of heads of state and government. It followed the first WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB hosted by the Russian Federation in 2017.

Pan American Health Organization PAHO
Tb patient takes medicine

Fact 1

In 2018, an estimated 10 million people fell ill with tuberculosis(TB) worldwide. 5.7 million men, 3.2 million women and 1.1 million children. There were cases in all countries and age groups. But TB is curable and preventable.

WHO
TB (tuberculosis) patients, Africa

Fact 2

A total of 1.5 million people died from TB in 2018 (including 251 000 people with HIV). Worldwide, TB is one of the top 10 causes of death and the leading cause from a single infectious agent (above HIV/AIDS).

WHO
TB patient taking medication

Fact 3

In 2018, the 30 high TB burden countries accounted for 87% of new TB cases. Eight countries account for two thirds of the total, with India leading the count, followed by, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and South Africa.

Tobias Hofsäss
A child taking medication

Fact 4

In 2018, 1.1 million children fell ill with TB globally, and there were 205 000 child deaths due to TB (including among children with HIV). Child and adolescent TB is often overlooked by health providers and can be difficult to diagnose and treat.

WHO
Tuberculosis and HIV detection and treatment in the WHO African Region

Fact 5

TB is the leading killer of people with HIV. In 2018, the proportion of people with HIV who died from TB fell 16%, down from 22% in 2000. Of the 900 000 people estimated to have HIV associated TB in 2018, a total of 477 461 people who had TB and HIV were notified, of whom 86% were on antiretroviral therapy. Most of the gaps in detection and treatment were in the WHO African Region, where the burden of HIV associated TB is highest.

WHO
TB patient taking medication

Fact 6

Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. In 2018, there were estimated half a million new cases with resistance to rifampicin (the most effective first-line drug), of which 78% had MDR-TB. In some cases an even more severe form of multi-drug resistant TB may develop with bad treatment. Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) is a form of TB that responds to even fewer available medicines.

WHO
Photo of children

Fact 7

TB treatment saved about 58 million lives globally between 2000 and 2018, but important diagnostic and treatment gaps persist. The treatment success rate for people with TB was 85% in 2017.

WHO/N. Tesfaye
Community volunteers working on TB, Ethiopia

Fact 8

Globally, TB incidence is falling at about 2% per year. This needs to accelerate to a 4–5% annual decline to reach the 2020 milestones of the WHO End TB Strategy.

WHO/UNITAID
Detection of tuberculosis in a laboratory

Fact 9

Of the estimated 10 million people who fell ill with TB , only 7 million were detected and notified in 2018, leading to a gap of 3 million cases. Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ben Hartschuh/WHO
Dr Tedros (Director-General of WHO) attending the UN high-level meeting on TB

Fact 10

Funding for the provision of TB prevention, diagnostic and treatment services has doubled since 2006 but still falls far short of what is needed. For TB care and prevention, investments in low- and middle-income countries amounted to US$ 6.8 billion in 2019, falling almost US$ 3.3 billion short of the US$ 10.1 billion estimated to be required in 2019 and only just over half of the global target of at least US$ 13 billion per year by 2022 that was agreed at the UN high-level meeting on TB.. For research and development, at least an extra US$ 1.2 billion per year is needed to accelerate the development of new tools.

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