Each year on March 24th, World Tuberculosis (TB) Day is observed to raise awareness about the devastating health, social, and economic consequences of TB and to accelerate efforts to complete the global epidemic of this curable disease.
The date commemorates the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of the bacterium that causes TB, a breakthrough that paved the way for diagnosing and treating the illness. TB remains a significant public health challenge, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations.
Primary healthcare is crucial for a comprehensive response to tuberculosis. Through the work of healthcare professionals, it enables early detection, timely diagnosis, and treatment follow-up, with services that are accessible, people-centered, and integrated with communities.
This year’s theme is “Yes! We can end TB!”
It’s a call to action for health institutions worldwide, urging them to expand access to new innovations, such as diagnostic tests that can be used near the point of care and tongue swab samples that can help detect the disease more quickly and reach more people.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) new guidelines on TB testing for use in primary care settings represent a step forward in faster detection and treatment of one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases.
These portable and easy-to-use tests bring TB diagnosis closer to the places where people typically seek medical care. Available at less than half the cost of many existing molecular diagnostics, they can help countries expand access to testing.
They run on batteries and provide results in under an hour, allowing patients to start treatment sooner.
“These new tools could be truly transformative for tuberculosis, bringing a rapid and accurate diagnosis closer to people, saving lives, halting transmission and reducing costs,” said Tedros Adhanom, WHO Director-General.
WHO invites all countries to expand access to these and other tools so that all people with TB can be cared for and treated promptly.
Beyond tuberculosis, these devices have the potential to detect other diseases such as HIV, chickenpox, and HPV, making diagnostics more patient-centered, equitable, and aligned with comprehensive services for emerging and circulating diseases.
The guidelines also recommend tongue swab sampling, a simple strategy for pooling sputum samples and saving costs, which increases the efficiency of TB and rifampicin-resistant TB screening.
Global progress is at risk without faster diagnosis.
Tuberculosis remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. Each day, more than 3,300 people die from TB and over 29,000 contract this preventable and curable disease.
Global efforts to combat TB have saved around 83 million lives since the year 2000; however, cuts in global health funding threaten to reverse these gains.
Adopting rapid diagnostic tools has been challenging in many countries, partly due to high costs and reliance on transporting samples for testing in centralized laboratories.
