Failure to implement contact tracing could result in 1 mln TB related deaths by 2035

Close to one million people could die by 2035 from tuberculosis and its related infections, a global health agency warned on Wednesday, urging early treatment and better contact tracing.

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Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne disease that affects the lungs and can affect other parts of the body such as the brain, kidneys or the spine. It is curable and preventable, according to the World Health Organization.

A joint study conducted by Unitaid, John Hopkins University and the Aurum Insititute found that identifying the spread of TB infections through household contact tracing and providing timely treatment can help reduce deaths by 35 percent in the next 12 years.

Unitaid warned that a failure to implement contact tracing to identify TB infections early could have a catastrophic impact, especially on children under the age of 15, given the difficulty in detecting the disease in this age group.

“At the moment, too many family members of people diagnosed with TB are slipping through the cracks and too many lives are being lost,” Johns Hopkins University faculty member Tess Ryckman told the United Nations.

According to the study, taking pre-emptive actions would help clear TB infections before they develop into an active disease. It is one of the few cost-effective ways to combat the disease in low-income countries where the population is at a higher risk of infection and TB-related fatalities.

The study found that more than 850,000 lives, most children under 15, can be saved by 2035 by implementing contact tracing and providing treatment in the early stages.

“This cost-effectiveness analysis proves that pre-emptively reaching all at-risk individuals – even when it requires the logistical hurdles of going into communities to find those who may not be actively seeking care – is not just ethically sound. It is a smart investment capable of making an enormous impact on the fight to end TB worldwide,” the UN cited Vincent Bretin, Director of Results at Unitaid, as saying in response to the report.

Tuberculosis remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease despite being curable, according to the UN. Around a quarter of the world’s population is infected with TB and at risk of developing severe illness.

An estimated 10.6 million people were diagnosed with TB in 2021, and 1.6 million died from the disease, according to the World Health Organization’s 2022 Global TB report.

As world leaders prepare for the second UN High-Level Meeting on tuberculosis in September, Unitaid has called for stronger commitments and financial backing to effectively prevent TB-related illness and deaths.

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