OPS insta a las Américas a adoptar tecnologías y tratamientos innovadores para eliminar la tuberculosis – OPS/OMS
Washington, DC, March 22, 2024 (PAHO) – On the eve of World Tuberculosis Day, which takes place on March 24, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) calls to intensify the fight against this preventable disease . and curable. Tuberculosis or TB is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent worldwide, surpassed only by COVID-19.
In the Americas, around 325,000 people fell ill with tuberculosis in 2023 and 35,000 died from this disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report. These figures represent an increase of 14% and 41%, respectively, compared to 2015, an increase exacerbated by the pandemic. Additionally, it is estimated that 83,000 people were not diagnosed or treated.
“It is time to redouble our efforts and work towards a future in which tuberculosis is no longer a threat to public health,” said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Director of PAHO. «Countries in the Americas are committed to eliminating TB, and we have new technologies and strategies that bring us closer to making this vision a reality,» he stressed.
Among the advances that can help countries eliminate tuberculosis by 2030, Dr. Barbosa highlighted radiography equipment assisted by artificial intelligence for the active search for tuberculosis in the community, rapid molecular tests to detect the disease at the first level of care and totally oral and shorter treatments.
Furthermore, the Director of PAHO stressed the importance of intensifying investment, multisectoral collaboration and the adoption of the latest WHO recommendations to reverse the trend of increasing tuberculosis cases.
The burden of tuberculosis varies substantially among countries in the region. In 2022, while three countries register a high incidence of tuberculosis, with more than 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, 14 countries and territories have managed to reduce the incidence to low levels, especially in the Caribbean region, and some are close to the threshold of elimination of the disease.
«Despite the strong impact of the pandemic and the great heterogeneity in the incidence of tuberculosis, the Americas are in a unique position to become the first region in the world to eliminate TB,» said Dr. Sylvain Aldighieri, Director of the Department of Prevention, Control and Elimination of Communicable Diseases of PAHO. Aldighieri highlighted that the Organization’s Disease Elimination Initiative, which was relaunched in September 2023 and addresses TB, is critical to achieving that goal.
PAHO works in collaboration with the countries of the Americas to end tuberculosis and guarantee equitable access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment services.
To mark World Tuberculosis Day, PAHO will hold a high-level event on March 25 at 10:30 AM Washington, DC time, where leaders, civil society representatives, and experts will in health from the region will discuss the opportunities and challenges towards the elimination of TB in the Americas.
