World Health Organization warns of possible tuberculosis surge because of USAID cuts
Source: NBC News
March 9, 2025, 6:30 AM EDT
Health authorities are calling attention to a looming consequence of the Trump administration’s gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development: the risk of a global surge in tuberculosis cases and deaths. The World Health Organization warned this week that the sweeping funding cuts could endanger millions of lives, since many countries depend on foreign aid for TB prevention, testing and treatment.
“Without immediate action, hard-won progress in the fight against TB is at risk,” Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, director of the WHO’s Global Programme on TB and Lung Health, said in a statement Wednesday. Globally, tuberculosis is responsible for the most deaths of any infectious disease.
Around 1.25 million people died from the bacterial infection in 2023, the latest data available, and new cases hit an all-time high that year, with around 8.2 million people diagnosed, according to the WHO. Until recently, USAID provided about a quarter of the international donor funding for tuberculosis services in other countries — up to $250 million annually, according to the WHO. The agency operated tuberculosis programs in 24 countries.
The WHO said that because of the U.S. funding cuts, drug supply chains in other countries are “breaking down,” laboratory services are “severely disrupted” and surveillance systems are “collapsing,” making it difficult to identify, monitor and treat tuberculosis cases. Some research trials have been halted, as well.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/tuberculosis-surge-possible-usaid-cuts-trump-who-rcna195190
Interestingly enough, I dug through my file cabinet last week and pulled out my old childhood immunization records because of this measles outbreak and like many of us on DU, there was no "MMR" shot during our childhoods (that didn't come out until 1971), so you either got the vaccines separately or you actually contracted the virus(es) - I found that I had the Mumps right around the time the vaccine was just coming out. But in any event, I noticed how many "Tine tests" were in my record as sort of a routine thing. That was definitely a "thing" back in the day that seems to have faded over the years but now here we are about to have TB explode on the scene again thanks to 45.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Measles, TB...what's next? oh yeah...polio! 
