October 2015

This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its annual Global TB Surveillance Report in Washington, DC, which shows that tuberculosis (TB) ranks as the top global infectious disease killer, with TB deaths now outpacing HIV/AIDS deaths around the world. In 2014, TB killed 1.5 million people, of which 400,000 were HIV-positive. HIV/AIDS deaths for 2014 were at 1.2 million. The number of drug resistant TB cases remained stable, at about 480,000, however, only about a quarter of people with drug resistant TB globally are being identified and treated.

The WHO report also notes significant global progress against TB incidence and mortality rates over the past few decades. The Millennium Development Goal to halt and reverse TB incidence by 2015 has been achieved. TB incidence has fallen for a total reduction of 18 percent since 2000 and the death rate is now almost half what it was in 1990.