The report highlights TB to among top 10 causes of death worldwide and leading cause of death from a single infectious agent.
Other Key Findings
- TB Burden: In 2024, 87% of world’s TB patients were concentrated in 30 countries, with the highest rates found in India (25%).
- Global TB Incidence Rate: Net reduction of 12% from 2015-2024.
- Global TB Deaths: Net reduction of 29% from 2015-2024.
- Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB): Remained a public health crisis and a health security threat.
About Tuberculosis (TB)
- It is a contagious airborne disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is preventable and curable.
- Two Types:
- Pulmonary TB: Most common form affecting the lungs, and is contagious spreading through airborne droplets through coughing or sneezing.
- Extrapulmonary TB: Occurs outside the lungs, affecting organs like lymph nodes, bones, brain, kidneys, or the pleura, less contagious and spreads within the body from lungs.
- Treatment: Treated with special antibiotics, most common being rifampicin; isoniazid; pyrazinamide; and ethambutol.
- MDR-TB: Form of TB that do not respond to rifampicin and isoniazid, the two most effective first-line TB drugs.
