United States: WHO reported Monday that tuberculosis (TB) infections among European children climbed 10% during 2023 due to the continued spread of the disease which demands prompt public health strategies to stop the transmission.
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According to WHO’s European region statistics, more than 7,500 children under 15 years of age contracted Tuberculosis in 2023, with an increase exceeding 650 cases from the previous year.
“The worrying rise in children with TB serves as a reminder that progress against this preventable and curable disease remains fragile,” as stated Hans Henri Kluge, WHO’s Regional Director for Europe.
Regional TB advisor Askar Yedilbayev from the WHO European region stated in an interview that the increased number of total cases might represent better diagnostic capabilities, Reuters reported.
Higher movement between Russia and Ukraine during wartime has amplified the tuberculosis burden in these two nations with the largest disease rates in the area.
Rising cases among the children
TB cases among children under 15 years old composed 4.3% of total infections as established by the joint WHO-European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control report concerning the European Union.
Yedilbayev emphasized the “worrisome scenario” regarding this data because the teenage population has shown a continuous upward trend in TB cases in the previous three years.
WHO warned that international donor reductions in support would eliminate the progress made toward controlling TB infections in developing nations.
WHO asserts that reducing funding diminishes non-EU country TB programs, resulting in the emergence of hard-to-treat bacteriological strains, Reuters reported.
The decrease in resources has resulted in workforce reductions within the local diagnostic and treatment teams, according to Yedilbayev.