Publication date: Mar 25, 2025

Tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and usually curable disease. Yet in 2023, TB probably returned to being the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, following 3 years in which it was replaced by coronavirus disease (COVID-19),1 and caused almost twice as many deaths as HIV/AIDS. More than 10 million people continue to fall ill with TB every year and the number has been rising since 2021. Urgent action is required to end the global TB epidemic by 2030, a goal that has been adopted by all Member States of the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) (1, 2).

TB is caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is spread when people who are sick with TB expel bacteria into the air (e.g. by coughing). About a quarter of the global population is estimated to have been infected with TB (3). Following infection, the risk of developing TB disease is highest in the first 2 years (approximately 5%), after which it is much lower (4). 2 Some people will clear the infection (5, 6). Of the total number of people who develop TB disease each year, about 90% are adults, with more cases among men than women. The disease typically affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can affect other sites as well.

Without treatment, the death rate from TB disease is high (close to 50%) (7). With treatments currently recommended by WHO (a course of anti-TB drugs for 4-6 months), about 85% of people with TB can be cured. Regimens of 1-6 months are available to treat TB infection. Universal health coverage (UHC) is necessary to ensure that all people who need treatment for TB disease or infection can access these treatments. The number of people acquiring infection and developing disease (and in turn the number of deaths caused by TB) can also be reduced through multisectoral action to address TB determinants such as poverty, undernutrition, HIV infection, smoking and diabetes.

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