modelling, based on excess-death figures, suggests the true figure is between 17m and 28m). And the new pandemic has made the old one worse.
After many years of slow but steady decline, the number of deaths from TB is rising again. According to figures published on October 27th by the World Health Organisation’s Global tb Programme, the death toll from tuberculosis was 1.6m in 2021, a rise of 14% since 2019.
A paper published last year predicts that number will increase by another 5% to 15% over the coming half decade. The WHO reckons that covid has set back progress against TB by many years.
Tuberculosis is an ancient affliction. Traces of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bug that causes it, have been found in Egyptian mummies more than 2,500 years old.