New data published by ECDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe show that with almost 39,000 reported tuberculosis cases in 2023, the 29 European Union and European Economic Area (EU/ EEA) countries continue to see increases in TB notifications. Given that young children have an increased risk of developing tuberculosis disease during the first year after infection, childhood TB serves as a marker for ongoing transmission within a community.
The new data for 2023 indicate that children and adolescents under the age of 15 accounted for 4.3% of all TB cases in the EU/EEA. And reported cases in this age group have gone up, even if only slightly, for the third year in a row. Between 2022 and 2023, notifications of paediatric TB rose from 1 341 to 1 689 cases. In addition, for one in five children with tuberculosis in the region it is unknown whether they completed their TB treatment. Incomplete treatment may result in deteriorating health outcomes such as the emergence of drug-resistant TB and further transmission of the disease to others.
ECDC Director Pamela Rendi-Wagner stresses that:
"The time to act to end TB is now. With just five years to meet our 2030 targets, it is critical that Europe renews its focus on prevention and timely, effective treatment. With the rise of drug-resistant TB, the cost of inaction today will be paid by us all tomorrow."
Persistent challenge: treatment success rates lag behind
Similar to previous years, the treatment success rate in 2023 was lower in the EU/EEA countries than in the rest of the WHO European Region (67.9% versus 77.2%, respectively). This represents a substantial gap between the current treatment success rates and the global targets set by the WHO, which aim for successful outcomes in at least 90% of patients.
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) remains a significant challenge: only roughly every second (56%) MDR-TB patient successfully finished their treatment regimen according to the released data. This clearly shows consistent problems to effectively manage and treat drug-resistant tuberculosis across the region. Possible reasons for this could be lack of treatment adherence, delays in diagnosis, and insufficient access to appropriate therapies.
Despite improvements in TB diagnostics and care, the persistence of MDR-TB and other drug-resistant forms of TB underscores the urgent need for more effective treatment strategies and better patient management, such as new and shorter injection-free oral treatment regimes.
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