World Tuberculosis Day - 2017

​Tuberculosis (TB) has become the world’s leading single infectious disease killer, an unenviable title previously held by HIV/AIDS. It is therefore more important than ever to join forces against TB to successfully reach the goal of ending TB by 2030. 

 

‘Unite to end TB’ was the global theme for World Tuberculosis Day and it resonated as a reminder that we can overcome the challenge, we can end TB, provided we stand together.

Alongside the World Health Organization, ECDC published the joint report ‘Tuberculosis surveillance and monitoring in Europe 2017’, which gave a detailed overview of the TB situation in the whole European region.

Although the general downward trend in the number of cases is encouraging, it is not sufficient to end TB by the set target. This trend is also less visible in some vulnerable groups and, for TB patients co-infected with HIV, the TB treatment is less likely to succeed. 

 

Together with the EU/EEA countries, ECDC has gathered various online resources on tuberculosis, encompassing a range of locations, materials and languages. Sharing existing materials and information could play a role in inspiring and helping one another.

 

Combining efforts will provide the key to eliminate TB.

To mark World Tuberculosis Day 2017 - under the global theme ‘Unite to end TB’ - ECDC released a series of materials, available below. They range from the latest surveillance data for the EU/EEA region, the annual joint report with WHO, peer-reviewed publications, to a list of online resources on TB.