Tuberculosis (TB) cases among children in Europe's WHO region increased by 10% in 2023, marking a troubling rise that underscores ongoing disease transmission, according to a World Health Organization report released on Monday.
Over 7,500 TB cases were recorded among children under 15 across Europe and Central Asia—an increase of more than 650 cases compared to 2022. WHO Europe Regional Director Hans Henri Kluge stressed that this increase highlights the fragility of progress in combating TB, a preventable and curable disease.
Askar Yedilbayev, WHO's regional TB adviser, suggested the rise might reflect better diagnosis or increased cross-border migration resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war, both high-burden TB countries.
Children now constitute 4.3% of total TB cases in the European Union, marking the third consecutive year of increasing childhood infections. Yedilbayev described this trend as a "worrisome scenario."
WHO previously cautioned that reduced funding from global donors threatens TB programmes, especially in non-EU countries, risking the spread of drug-resistant TB strains. Funding shortages have already compromised local healthcare capacities, putting TB diagnosis and treatment supplies in jeopardy.
TB remains one of the world's top 10 deadliest diseases, primarily infecting lungs and transmitted via coughing or sneezing.
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The leader of an extremist group that carried out so-called "Sharia patrols" targeting people suspected of drinking alcohol in Russia's Kabardino-Balkarian Republic has been sentenced to four years and three months in a penal colony.
The U.S. has announced new visa restrictions targeting individuals it says are undermining peace efforts in Ethiopia, focusing on hardline members of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and their immediate family members amid rising tensions in the country's north.
A Ukrainian drone strike has hit an oil refinery in south-east Moscow for the second time in three days, triggering a major fire, disrupting flights across the Russian capital and highlighting growing vulnerabilities in the country's energy infrastructure.
The United Arab Emirates has introduced a minimum age of 15 for social media use, becoming the first country in the Arab world to impose such a restriction amid growing global concerns about the impact of digital platforms on children.
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