COVID-19 Response Could Cause 1.4 Mln Extra Tuberculosis Deaths By 2025 - Researchers

Faizan Hashmi Published May 06, 2020 | 10:26 PM

Close to 6.3 million more people are expected to contract tuberculosis (TB) in the next five years and an additional 1.4 million people are expected to die as cases go unnoticed and untreated amid the coronavirus-related global lockdowns, Stop TB Partnership said on Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th May, 2020) Close to 6.3 million more people are expected to contract tuberculosis (TB) in the next five years and an additional 1.4 million people are expected to die as cases go unnoticed and untreated amid the coronavirus-related global lockdowns, Stop TB Partnership said on Wednesday.

Stop TB Partnership is an alliance of governmental and non-governmental organizations, international organizations, research agencies, donors and other concerned stakeholders with a mission reflected in the group's name.

A modeling analysis, conducted by Stop TB Partnership in collaboration with Imperial College London, Avenir Health, Johns Hopkins University and USAID, has found that the ongoing fight against COVID-19 can cause a setback of at least five to eight years in the global fight against tuberculosis.

"Globally, a 3-month lockdown and a protracted 10-month restoration could lead to an additional 6.

3 million cases of TB between 2020 and 2025, and an additional 1.4 million TB deaths during this time," the study's summary report read.

The study draws on data from three high-incident countries � India, Kenya and Ukraine � and extrapolated it to create global estimates.

Findings suggest that the COVID-19 response, even if lasting for only three months, would have a long-term impact on tuberculosis dynamics in high-burden settings through its impact on the diagnosis and treatment services.

The authors have called for reducing the accumulated pool of undetected TB cases in order to reclaim the gains made over last years through increased efforts and investments in the fight against tuberculosis. This includes ramped-up screening, community engagement, contact tracing, timely response to alarming symptoms and use of technology.