According to a 20th annual evaluations produced by WHO, India recorded the largest number of Tuberculosis cases in the world during 2014. 1.5 million People died in 2014 including 140,000 children from the disease which ranks alongside HIV as a leading killer globally.
Regions having high Tuberculosis cases
As per World Health Organisation’s Global Tuberculosis Report 2015, 9.6 million new TB cases in 2014 and 58% were in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions.
- India and Nigeria accounted for about one-third of global TB deaths (both including and excluding among HIV-positive people)
| India | 23% |
| Indonesia | 10% |
| China | 10% |
Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa also had high numbers of TB cases last year.
Regions halved the disease rate compared with 1990
The target of halving the rate compared with 1990 was achieved in three WHO regions:
| Region of the Americas |
| South-East Asia Region |
| Western Pacific Region |
9 high-burden countries – Brazil, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Uganda and Vietnam also achieved this target. Globally, TB prevalence in 2015 was 42% lower than in 1990.
Measures to reduce tuberculosis
In order to reduce TB’s overall burden, detection and treatment gaps need to be closed, funding shortfalls filled and new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines developed.
- Intensified efforts are needed to ensure that all cases are detected, notified to national surveillance systems and treated according to international standards.
- Effective diagnosis and treatment saved 43 million lives between 2000 and 2015.
(World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland)
