WHO’s Global tuberculosis report 2015 was released on 28 Oct 2015 in Washington.
Tuberculosis mortality nearly halved since 1990 But TB ranks alongside HIV as a leading cause of death worldwide.
The fight against tuberculosis is paying off, with this year’s death rate nearly half of what it was in 1990. Nevertheless, 1.5 million people died from TB in 2014. Most of these deaths could have been prevented.
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Main findings and messages:
- The advances are major: TB mortality has fallen 47% since 1990, with nearly all of that improvement taking place since 2000, when the MDGs were set.
- In all, effective diagnosis and treatment of TB saved an estimated 43 million lives between 2000 and 2014.
- The MDG target to halt and reverse TB incidence has been achieved on a worldwide basis, in each of the six WHO regions and in 16 of the 22 high-burden countries that collectively account for 80% of TB cases. Globally, TB incidence has fallen by an average of 1.5% per year since 2000 and is now 18% lower than the level of 2000.
- This year’s report describes higher global totals for new TB cases than in previous years, but these reflect increased and improved national data rather than any increase in the spread of the disease.
- Despite these advances and despite the fact that nearly all cases can be cured, TB remains one of the world’s biggest threats.
- In 2014, TB killed 1.5 million people (1.1 million HIV-negative and 0.4 million HIV-positive). The toll comprised 890 000 men, 480 000 women and 140 000 children.
- TB now ranks alongside HIV as a leading cause of death worldwide.
- To reduce this burden, detection and treatment gaps must be addressed, funding gaps closed and new tools developed.