Estimated deaths from tuberculosis — the deadliest infectious disease until Covid -19 emergence — increased for the first time in more than a decade last year, the World Health Organization said Thursday, blaming severe disruptions of treatment and diagnosis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Using statistical models to help compensate for gaps in reporting on tuberculosis, particularly in developing countries, the United Nations Health Agency estimated that around 1.5 million people died from the disease last year. TB is a bacterial infection that most common affects the lungs and is particularly dangerous for people with HIV and others with compromised immune systems
Covid-19 has caused 4.88 million confirmed deaths internationally, of which 1.88 million were found in 2020, according to Johns Hopkins University data. In contrast to WHO-Record Data on Tuberculosis, the Johns Hopkins Covid - 19 toll contains generally confirmed deaths from the disease and likely underrepresents the overall toll of coronavirus, especially in developing countries where testing has been poor.
If the WHO s tuberculosis tally is correct, 2020 marked the first increase in global TB deaths since 2005.
The WHO's new report is one of the first to take stock of the consequences of the severe disruptions caused by the pandemic to the care and prevention of other infectious diseases, especially in developing countries. In late November or early December, the WHO is due to release its report on the estimated toll of malaria in 2020, which many public-health professionals expect to show an increase from the estimated 409,000 deaths from the mosquito-borne illness in 2019.
Experts have also raised concerns over disruptions to routine early child vaccinations due to the pandemic, which could lead to increased outbreaks of diseases such as measles in the coming years.
Strict lockdowns, overwhelmed health systems and fear of catching Covid - 19 stopped millions of people from getting tested or treated for tuberculosis last year, the WHO said. The number of people diagnosed with TB fell to 5.8 million in 2020, from 7.1 million in 2019 and the number of people seeking preventive treatment for the disease dropped 21% to 2.8 million. Until now, around 150,000 people were treated for drug resistant TB, a 15% decline from 2019.
The WHO estimated that some 4.1 million people are currently infected with TB but haven t been diagnosed, up from 2 million in 2019. The agency warns that its modeling suggests more people will die of TB and develop from the disease in 2021 and 2022, as well.
Disruptions to diagnosis and care were among the most severe in Indonesia and India, where the number of notified TB cases dropped by 31% and 25%, respectively; the Philippines, which saw a decline of 30%, and in Gabon and India, where notifications disappeared by 31% and 25%.
The pandemic has longstanding exacerbated TB funding challenges in the fight against it's spread. Since 2015 - 2020, funding has decreased to $5.3 billion. The WHO estimates that TB diagnostic, treatment and prevention will cost less than half the WHO - budget - is needed — in 2020 also dropping 9% to $5.3 billion as countries shifted resources toward Covid - 19.
This is alarming news that must serve as a global wake-up call to the urgent need for investments and innovation to close the gaps in diagnosis, treatment and care for the millions of people affected by this ancient but preventable and treatable disease, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.