Exploring the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Tuberculosis Care and Prevention.

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has set back the global tuberculosis (TB) response by several years. In 2020, access to TB prevention and care declined sharply, with TB notifications dropping by 18% compared to 2019. Declines were more pronounced in children, with a 24% drop in 0-14 year-olds and a 28% drop in 0-4 year-olds. As a result, in 2020 the number of deaths due to TB increased to 1.5 million across all ages, reversing a decade-long declining trend. Progress toward the UN High Level Meeting targets for 2022 is at risk, including the targets related to children for TB and drug-resistant TB treatments, and TB preventive therapy. Nonetheless, ending TB by 2030 as envisaged in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is still possible, but requires increased investments in accelerated case detection, subclinical TB, preventive therapy and an effective vaccine. Investing in TB could prepare the world better for fighting a future airborne pandemic.