WHO says TB remains world's deadliest infectious disease

GENEVA - Tuberculosis, or TB, remains the world's deadliest infectious disease although global efforts have averted an estimated 54 million TB deaths since 2000, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday.

WHO, in its latest 2018 Global TB Report, says countries are still not doing enough to end TB by 2030 and calls for an unprecedented mobilization of national and international commitments. It urges for decisive action from nearly 50 heads of state and government who are expected to gather next week for the first-ever UN High-level Meeting on TB.

The report finds that overall, TB deaths have decreased over the past year, with an estimated 10 million people having developed TB and 1.6 million deaths, including among 300,000 HIV-positive people, in 2017. The number of new cases has fallen by 2 percent per year.