The American Thoracic Society applauds the World Health Organization (WHO) on today’s release of its Global Tuberculosis Report 2015, which finds that the number of TB deaths is now virtually equal to the number of HIV/AIDS deaths globally.
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The report went on to say that “this year’s report describes higher global totals for new TB cases (9.6. million) than in previous years”, reflecting increased and improved national data and in-depth studies rather than any increase in the spread of the disease.
TB mortality has fallen by almost half since 1990, with almost all improvement taking place since 2000, when the United Nations set Millennium Development Goals for reducing the incidence of the disease. The End TB Strategy, adopted by all WHO Member States, serves as a blueprint for countries to reduce TB incidence by 80% and TB deaths by 90% and to eliminate catastrophic costs for TB-affected households by 2030. The data included 400,000 deaths in people who were diagnosed with both TB and HIV.
And these death numbers are a bit complicated.
But 400,000 of them are officially counted as Aids deaths as they were in HIV positive patients.
There’s another TB statistic that’s particularly worrisome. The new report estimates that there were roughly half a million cases of multi-drug resistant TB last year, double the number from the year 2000. Forty-three countries reported cure rates for MDR-TB patients of more than 75%. “Something is not going well there”.
The report also highlights the dangers of tuberculosis becoming resistant to antibiotics. Africa accounts for 21 percent of new cases. Even so, TB remains a major threat, killing 1.5 million people in 2014. “The increase is explained by a 29 per cent increase in notifications in India, linked to the introduction of a policy of mandatory notification”, the report added.
So public health officials are anxious.
Medecins Sans Frontieres said the statistics were “disheartening” and warned the world was “losing ground” on tackling resistant forms of TB.
Dr. Mario Raviglione, who directs the WHO TB program, noted that the report shows how much progress science and medicine have made with regards to treating HIV/AID. The disease ranks alongside HIV as a leading killer worldwide.
Citing the steep rise in TB case notifications from private sector care providers in India between 2013 and 2014 (from 85,000 to 195,000 in 2014) “impressive”, the report explained that for the first time since 2007, there was a noticeable increase in global TB notifications in 2014 (these had stabilised at around 5.7-5.8 million new and relapse cases for 2007-2013).
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“Our point is that we should have the same type of investment going to TB and as of yet that hasn’t been achieved”, Raviglione says.
