Live
- Mount Fuji observes season's first snowcap, latest ever in 130 years
- RG Kar hearing: SC orders NTF report to be made available to all states, UTs
- How air pollution is contributing to cancers in India
- Efforts Intensify for Expanding BC Reservations in Local Elections - Dedicated Committee Formed
- Domestic air passenger traffic in India sees 6.3 pc growth at 138.5 lakh in Oct
- Concerns Over NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams' Health After Recent Photos Show Significant Weight Loss
- Chandrababu holds meeting with ministers, discusses on SC Classification
- National anti-terror policy, strategy to be unveiled soon: HM Shah
- Donald Trump Effect: Gold Prices Drop Sharply in a Single Day
- Australian govt to ban social media access for children younger than 16
Europe saw 7,000 excess TB deaths during Covid-19 pandemic: WHO
Europe saw about 7,000 additional deaths from tuberculosis (TB) in the three years of the Covid pandemic from 2020-2022, compared to pre-2020 estimates, according to a new report released on Thursday, ahead of the World TB Day -- March 24.
New Delhi: Europe saw about 7,000 additional deaths fromtuberculosis (TB) in the three years of the Covid pandemic from 2020-2022, compared to pre-2020 estimates, according to a new report released on Thursday, ahead of the World TB Day -- March 24.
The increased mortality was due to the disruption caused in diagnosis and treatment efforts during the pandemic, revealed the latest TB surveillance and monitoring report from the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
"Our latest report reveals a heart-breaking, entirely preventable situation -- people affected by TB were not protected during the pandemic and 7,000 needlessly lost their lives because of disruptions to TB services," said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, Regional Director at WHO/Europe, in a statement.
Importantly, the report showed successful cure in only six out of 10 TB treatments using first-line medicines -- the lowest rates in a decade -- as against 9 out of 10 patients infected with strains that respond to the antibiotics rifampicin and isoniazid.
"The report also reveals another evolving, preventable tragedy -- the prevalence of drug-resistant TB continues to rise," Dr Hans said, calling "national authorities to strengthen TB testing programmes, diagnoses promptly".
The report also raised concerns about the "suboptimal" management of TB and HIV co-infection.
The report recommends "scaling up efforts to actively find and treat missing cases of TB".
This can be achieved by boosting TB testing, improving access to preventive treatment; and implementing short, and full oral treatment regimens, the report said.
