(Press-News.org) New data published by ECDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe [1] 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 [2]:
"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. [3]
----Ends----
References/notes to editors:
[1] Tuberculosis surveillance and monitoring in Europe 2025 - 2023 data.
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, WHO Regional Office for Europe. Tuberculosis surveillance and monitoring in Europe 2024 – 2022 data. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe and Stockholm: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control; 2024.
Available from: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/tuberculosis-surveillance-and-monitoring-europe-2025-2023-data
[2] The Sustainable Development Goals Target 3.3 as part of goal 3 on ‘Good Health and Well-Being to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. It outlines for communicable diseases: By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases. Available from: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal3
[3] A recent study from 13 countries in the European Region showed they had a treatment success rate over 80%.
[4] The WHO European Region covers 53 countries from Europe and Central Asia, along with Israel.
[5] World Tuberculosis Day is observed on 24 March each year. Its overall goal is to raise awareness about the burden of TB worldwide and the status of TB prevention and control efforts. TB elimination is defined as less than one case of TB disease per 1 million population per year. You can find more materials around World TB Day here: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/world-tuberculosis-day-2025
END
Childhood tuberculosis cases up by 26% in the EU/EEA
Tuberculosis (TB) in children and adolescents serves as indicator for ongoing disease transmission. For the third year in a row, European Union and European Economic Area countries saw an uptick of TB diagnoses among children under the age of 15
2025-03-24
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[Press-News.org] Childhood tuberculosis cases up by 26% in the EU/EEATuberculosis (TB) in children and adolescents serves as indicator for ongoing disease transmission. For the third year in a row, European Union and European Economic Area countries saw an uptick of TB diagnoses among children under the age of 15