Tuberculosis is back to being the leading infectious disease killer across the globe, surpassing COVID-19, according to a recent report from the World Health Organization.
Nearly 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2023, which is the highest number ever recorded since the organization began monitoring it in 1995.
However, WHO said the number of tuberculosis-related deaths slightly declined between 2022 and 2023, from 1.32 million to 1.25 million.
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The report stated men had the highest number of cases — 55% — while 33% were women and 12% were children.
“The fact that TB still kills and sickens so many people is an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent it, detect it and treat it,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement. “WHO urges all countries to make good on the concrete commitments they have made to expand the use of those tools, and to end TB.”
The report said there are five major risk factors that are driving most of the new tuberculosis cases, including undernutrition, HIV infection, alcohol use disorders, smoking and diabetes.
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WHO said global funding is the biggest obstacle in getting tuberculosis prevention and care in hard-hit areas, with low-income countries accounting for 98% of the burden.
Tuberculosis, or TB, is a disease that usually affects the lungs but can affect other parts of the body. It can live in the body without making you sick or causing any symptoms but can discovered through tests, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms may include a cough that lasts over three weeks, chest pain, coughing up blood, fatigue, chills, fever and weight loss. It is spread through the air from person to person.
There is a vaccine for tuberculosis but it is not typically used in the U.S., the CDC said.
