TB Infection Of Children In European Regions Increases 10 Percent, WHO Calls For Action Immediately

WHO illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Guilhem Vellut)

JAKARTA - Tuberculosis infections (TB) among children in the European region increased by 10 percent in 2023, which showed ongoing transmission and the need for immediate public health measures to control its spread, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

The WHO Regional Europe, which includes 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, reported more than 7,500 cases among children under the age of 15 in 2023, an increase of more than 650 cases compared to 2022.

"The alarming increase in children with TB serves as a reminder that progress on this preventable and healing disease is still fragile," said WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Henri Kluge.

Meanwhile, Askar Sedilbayev, regional TB adviser to the WHO European region, said in interviews the increase in cases as a whole may show a better diagnosis. However, this could also be due to increased cross-border movements due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the two countries with the highest disease burden in the region.

Children under the age of 15 account for 4.3 percent of all TB cases in the European Union, according to a joint report by WHO and the European Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.

This shows an increase in cases in this age group over three consecutive years, which Yedilbayev says is a "worry scenario".

Previously, WHO had warned that cutting funds from global donors would cancel progress in controlling TB infections in low- and middle-income countries. This cut in funds could harm the TB program in non-EU countries, which triggers an increase in the type of TB that is difficult to treat, the agency said.

Some local workers in the field have been harmed by cuts in funds, and diagnostic and care supplies remain threatened, Yedilabayev said.

It is known, TB, one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide, is a potentially fatal bacterial infection that mainly attacks the lungs and spreads through coughs or sneezing.