Covid-19 got global attention as it affected rich nations, says TB expert

The sudden focus on Covid-19 has had a significant negative impact on TB because in many countries the Covid-19 response has been built on or has utilised the TB response, says Grania Brigden

India, with 2.4 million tuberculosis (TB) cases in 2019, has the most cases (27%) in the world. With attention focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, resources from government TB programmes around the world, including in India, have been diverted to the COVID-19 response, says Grania Brigden, director of The Union, a global organisation working on TB and other lung-related issues.

“I fear we can expect the number of “missing millions” in TB increasing again after all the work that has been done to find the missing