The World Health Organization confirmed today that one in every five cases of tuberculosis goes undetected or unreported.
The organization’s European branch reported that about 162,000 cases were officially recorded during the year 2024, but the real number of infections is estimated at about 204,000 cases.
The report concluded that drug-resistant TB occurs more frequently in Europe than the global average, accounting for 23% of cases compared to 3.2% worldwide, and that these types of the disease are more difficult to treat and often more deadly.
The organization explained that the delay in diagnosing the disease increases the possibility of transmission and makes it difficult to treat, and its greater spread can lead to failure to treat more cases, which is a major factor in drug resistance.
The report indicated that although infection cases have decreased significantly since 2015, Europe continues to fail to achieve the goals of early detection, treatment and follow-up, which hampers efforts to contain the disease.
Globally, tuberculosis remains the deadliest disease in terms of annual deaths, according to data from the World Health Organization.
It is noteworthy that about 11 million people became infected with the disease during 2024, and more than 1.2 million people died, mainly in low-resource countries.
