The Global Tuberculosis Report 2014 highlights that while the number of TB deaths among people living with HIV has been falling for almost a decade—from 540 000 in 2004 to 360 000 in 2013—early case detection, antiretroviral treatment, preventive therapy and other key activities need to be further scaled-up.
Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s deadliest communicable diseases. In 2013, an estimated 9.0 million people developed TB and 1.5 million died from the disease, 360 000 of whom were HIV-positive. TB is slowly declining each year and it is estimated that 37 million lives were saved between 2000 and 2013 through effective diagnosis and treatment. However, given that most deaths from TB are preventable, the death toll from the disease is still unacceptably high and efforts to combat it must be accelerated if 2015 global targets, set within the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), are to be met.
TB is present in all regions of the world and the Global Tuberculosis Report 2014 includes data compiled from 202 countries and territories. This year’s report shows higher global totals for new TB cases and deaths in 2013 than previously, reflecting use of increased and improved national data.
