leading cause of death from infectious disease in 2023

With 8.2 million new cases of tuberculosis diagnosed in 2023, tuberculosis is once again the infectious disease which causes the greatest number of deaths, thus surpassing Covid-19 which has occupied this place over the last 3 years, indicates L’World Health Organization (WHO) in a new report ^[1]. Tuberculosis is also the leading cause of death among people living with HIV and a leading cause of death linked to antimicrobial resistance ^[2].

Formidable challenges

Tuberculosis is not weakening: 8.2 million new cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed in 2023 (vs. 7.5 million cases in 2022). This is the highest number recorded since WHO began tracking global tuberculosis in 1995.

Pour D^r Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesuswho heads the WHO, “the fact that tuberculosis continues to reach and kill so many people is a scandal, even though we have the tools necessary to prevent, detect and treat it.” “WHO urges all countries to fulfill the concrete commitments they have made to expand the use of these tools and end TB,” he adds in a press release. ^[1].

The disease disproportionately affects populations in 30 high-burden countries. Together, India (26%), Indonesia (10%), China (6.8%), the Philippines (6.8%) and Pakistan (6.3%) account for 56% of cases. tuberculosis worldwide. According to the report, 55% of people who developed the disease were men, 33% were women and 12% were children or young adolescents.

A significant number of new cases of tuberculosis are attributable to five major risk factors: undernutrition, HIV infection, alcohol use disorders, smoking and diabetes, says the WHO.

“We face a host of daunting challenges, including: lack of funding and the catastrophic financial burden for those affected; climate change; conflicts; migration and displacement; pandemics and drug-resistant tuberculosis, which is an important driver of antimicrobial resistance,” said the D^re Tereza KasaevaDirector, Global Tuberculosis Program, WHO. “It is imperative that we join forces across sectors and with all stakeholders to tackle these pressing issues and scale up our efforts. »

Increase research funding

In the fight against tuberculosis, money remains the driving force of war, both in terms of treatment and prevention. “Global funding for tuberculosis prevention and treatment declined further in 2023 and remains well below the target,” says the WHO. Not to mention that “low- and middle-income countries, which bear 98% of the TB burden, face significant financing gaps.” The report highlights the critical importance of sustained financial investment for the success of tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment efforts.

As for research on tuberculosis, “it remains seriously underfunded, in fact only a fifth of the annual target of 5 billion USD has been reached in 2022. This situation hinders the development of new diagnostic tools, drugs and vaccines against tuberculosis.

WHO calls on governments, global partners and donors to urgently translate commitments made at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis in 2023 into concrete actions. Increased funding for research, particularly for new TB vaccines, is essential to accelerate progress and meet global targets set for 2027, concludes WHO.

Note that as part of the 2030 Agenda for Immunization (IA2030), the World Health Organization has identified priority endemic pathogens for the research and development of new vaccines. Of the 17 pathogens on the list, five appear on the top ten list for each region of the world and tuberculosis is one of them alongside HIV-1, K pneumoniaeof S aureus and d’ExPEC.