The number of people who died from tuberculosis increased for the first time in more than ten years. The reason was the decrease in the number of people who received testing and treatment, as the world focused on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. This was reported by the World Health Organization.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of global progress in the fight against tuberculosis, and for the first time in more than a decade, deaths from tuberculosis increased. Bacterial disease killed 1.5 million people globally last year, up from 1.4 million deaths in 2019..

More people died of TB in 2020, far fewer people were diagnosed and treated or received preventive TB treatment compared to 2019, and overall spending on basic TB services has decreased.. The agency estimates that about 4 million people have TB but have not yet been diagnosed with TB, an increase of 2.9 million from the previous year..

“This is disturbing news and should serve as a global wake-up call for investment and innovation to close gaps in diagnosis, treatment and care for millions of people.. "

WHO said the impact of the pandemic on TB services in 2020 was " Global investment in the fight against the disease also fell last year..

As part of its report, WHO has identified two main challenges that have emerged in 2020 in the fight against infection:

the movement of human and financial resources from TB services to the COVID-19 response, and the inability of people to seek and regularly receive help in isolation..

Modeling forecasts show that the number of people who get sick and die from the disease could rise in 2021 and 2022.

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Ukraine will receive more than $ 135 million for the treatment of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

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Earlier it was reported that a single anti-tuberculosis institution will be created in Kiev, which will have the status of a regional phthisiopulmonological medical center..