Tuberculosis warning as cases of disease rise for first time in decades in Europe

Disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic is being blamed for the first recorded rise in tuberculosis (TB) cases and deaths in Europe for two decades.

Some 27,300 people died from TB in the World Health Organization’s Europe region in 2021, up from 27,000 deaths the previous year, according to a new surveillance report by WHO and European Union’s disease prevention agency.

The rate of new cases and relapses in the region is also estimated to have increased by 1.2 per cent compared to 2020, in a reversal analysts said “reflects the impact of disruption to TB services caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.” The report comes days after the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported a 7.3 per cent rise in cases in England in 2021, a year that saw new 4,425 cases.

Dr Esther Robinson, head of the UKHSA's TB unit, said, "Tuberculosis remains a risk to some of the most vulnerable people in our society and this data highlights that progress towards elimination has stalled."

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Source: Independent, 3 April 2023