A report published by France's health body shows that tuberculosis – although at a low level – saw a rebound in cases in 2023. The uptick coincides with the arrival of refugees from Ukraine in 2022.
According to a study published Tuesday by Public Health France (Santé Publique France), there were 5,114 cases of tuberculosis recorded in 2019 – the year before the Covid pandemic.
The findings were published in the agency's weekly bulletin ahead of World Tuberculosis Day on 24 March.
The study said there was a "sharp decrease" in cases from 2020 and in the subsequent two years. Then 2023 saw "a change in trend", with the number of cases rising.
There were 4,728 cases declared, probably linked to "a catch-up in diagnosed cases", the authors of the study said.
Transmitted by air, tuberculosis (TB) is a highly contagious bacterial infection most often affecting the lungs. It can also spread to the brain.
Recently surpassed by Covid-19 as the leading cause of death from infection in the world, tuberculosis continues to be problematic despite vaccines and antibiotics.
The vaccine is recommended in France, but not mandatory, with fewer than 10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Refugee screening
Although there has been a regular decline in declared cases (a decline of around 5 percent per year for the last 50 years), there can be sudden spikes in numbers linked to external events, the study points out.
The war in Ukraine, for example, caused a significant movement of refugees towards western Europe, contributing to a rise in tuberculosis.
France has implemented active tuberculosis screening for certain refugees coming from Ukraine, one of the countries with the highest number of cases in Europe.
However, the public health agency reported that fewer than 10 percent of the 118,000 displaced people in France were screened by anti-tuberculosis centers in 2022.
Public Health France estimates the prevalence of cases among displaced people is at 197 per 100,000.
In 2022, doctors also noted an increase in cases of tuberculosis that resisted treatment by antibiotics after the arrival of cases from Ukraine and Georgia.
According to the World Health Organization, a total of 1.3 million people died from TB in 2022 (including 167,000 people with HIV).
Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
