Interpretation of the Global Tuberculosis Report 2022 by World Health Organization

Global Tuberculosis Report 2022 (hereafter referred to as “report”), newly published by the World Health Organization (WHO), states that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has increased the tuberculosis (TB) disease burden and severely affected global TB prevention and control. In 2021, WHO approved a total of six molecular diagnostic technologies for TB diagnosis and anti-TB drug resistance detection, and three new TB antigen-based skin tests for TB screening were recommended. To reduce the burden on patients and the health system, WHO recommends a 4-month regimen for drug-susceptible TB and four shorter regimens for the treatment of multidrug-resistant/rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB). In addition, there were 26 drugs for TB treatment in clinical trials, and at least 22 clinical trials evaluating drugs and drug regimens for TB treatment were underway. In 2021， the TB epidemic remains severe in China, with the number of newly diagnosed cases ranking third among the 30 countries. In 2021, a total of 639 548 TB cases and 1 763 deaths were reported nationwide, with an incidence of 45.37/100 000 and a mortality of 0.13/100 000. China has the fourth largest number of MDR/RR-TB patients in the world. However, it is necessary to verify whether the regimens for MDR/RR-TB treatment recommended by WHO are suitable for patients in China.