Tuberculosis in South-East Asia Region

The WHO South-East Asia (SEA) Region is home to 26% of the world’s population with 44% burden of TB incidence. In 2017, an estimated 4.4 million people fell ill with TB and estimated 638 000 died because of the disease which is more than half of global TB deaths. Treatment success for new and relapse TB cases was 75% (for those initiated on treatment in 2016), amongst the lowest in the Regions of the world.

It is also estimated that 192 000 Rifampicin-resistant (RR) and multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) cases accounting for more than 34% of global burden appeared in the Region in 2017, of which less than 52 000 were notified in the same year.

Six out of the 30 high TB (and MDR-TB) burden countries are in the SEA Region: Bangladesh, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand.