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Tuberculosis saw a rebound in cases in France in 2023
The number of tuberculosis notifications fell sharply during the health crisis, which partly explains the current increase in cases.
By Le Parisien with AFP
March 19 , 2024 at 8:42 a.m.
Tuberculosis, although it remains at a low level, saw a rebound in cases in France in 2023 after three years of the Covid era, according to a study published Tuesday by Public Health France. While the health crisis “had no consequences on the severity and mortality from tuberculosis” in 2022, 2023 saw “a change in trend, with an increase in incidence”. This is probably linked to “a catch-up in diagnosed cases”, note the authors of the study. But given the situation also in other countries , “vigilance remains essential”.
After 5,114 cases recorded in 2019, the pre-Covid year, there was “a sharp decrease in cases and the reporting rate in the year the pandemic occurred”, then “the following two years”, is- it summarizes in a weekly epidemiological bulletin. According to provisional data, 4,728 cases have been reported for 2023.
Transmitted by air, tuberculosis is a highly contagious bacterial infection most often affecting the lungs, but can spread to the brain. Recently dethroned by Covid-19 as the leading cause of death from infection in the world, tuberculosis continues to be problematic, despite vaccines and antibiotics. Its persistence in France , even with less than 10 cases/100,000 inhabitants, means that the vaccine remains recommended there, without being obligatory.
External events, such as the war in Ukraine
The regular decline in declared cases (a decline of around 5% per year for half a century) and deaths in the country is sometimes interrupted by “limited and transitory increases” linked to external events, points out the study. In addition to Covid, the war in Ukraine, causing a significant movement of refugees towards Western Europe, had an impact on the epidemic.
France has implemented active tuberculosis screening for certain refugees coming from Ukraine, one of the countries with the highest incidence in Europe. “Less than 10% of the 118,000 displaced people in France will have been screened by anti-tuberculosis centers in 2022,” according to another SPF study, which estimates the prevalence of cases among them at 197/100,000. To explain this limited screening, the authors mention, among other things, difficulties in reaching certain refugees, housed “in improvised short-term centers” or with locals. And “few people suffered from symptoms” prompting them to seek care.
At the same time, a re-increase in cases of tuberculosis with multi-resistant bacilli to the main antibiotics was noted in France in 2022 after the arrival of cases from Ukraine and Georgia, points out another BEH publication.
Over the last 10 years, however, the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis has experienced “several revolutions with the discovery of new anti-tuberculosis drugs, the repositioning of known antibiotics and the results of several therapeutic trials combining these molecules”. World Tuberculosis Day is coming soon, on March 24.
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See also (in French):
Weekly epidemiological bulletin, March 19, 2024, n°6-7
Published on March 19, 2024
Updated on March 19, 2024
PDF 0.96 MB
Tuberculosis saw a rebound in cases in France in 2023
The number of tuberculosis notifications fell sharply during the health crisis, which partly explains the current increase in cases.
By Le Parisien with AFP
March 19 , 2024 at 8:42 a.m.
Tuberculosis, although it remains at a low level, saw a rebound in cases in France in 2023 after three years of the Covid era, according to a study published Tuesday by Public Health France. While the health crisis “had no consequences on the severity and mortality from tuberculosis” in 2022, 2023 saw “a change in trend, with an increase in incidence”. This is probably linked to “a catch-up in diagnosed cases”, note the authors of the study. But given the situation also in other countries , “vigilance remains essential”.
After 5,114 cases recorded in 2019, the pre-Covid year, there was “a sharp decrease in cases and the reporting rate in the year the pandemic occurred”, then “the following two years”, is- it summarizes in a weekly epidemiological bulletin. According to provisional data, 4,728 cases have been reported for 2023.
Transmitted by air, tuberculosis is a highly contagious bacterial infection most often affecting the lungs, but can spread to the brain. Recently dethroned by Covid-19 as the leading cause of death from infection in the world, tuberculosis continues to be problematic, despite vaccines and antibiotics. Its persistence in France , even with less than 10 cases/100,000 inhabitants, means that the vaccine remains recommended there, without being obligatory.
External events, such as the war in Ukraine
The regular decline in declared cases (a decline of around 5% per year for half a century) and deaths in the country is sometimes interrupted by “limited and transitory increases” linked to external events, points out the study. In addition to Covid, the war in Ukraine, causing a significant movement of refugees towards Western Europe, had an impact on the epidemic.
France has implemented active tuberculosis screening for certain refugees coming from Ukraine, one of the countries with the highest incidence in Europe. “Less than 10% of the 118,000 displaced people in France will have been screened by anti-tuberculosis centers in 2022,” according to another SPF study, which estimates the prevalence of cases among them at 197/100,000. To explain this limited screening, the authors mention, among other things, difficulties in reaching certain refugees, housed “in improvised short-term centers” or with locals. And “few people suffered from symptoms” prompting them to seek care.
At the same time, a re-increase in cases of tuberculosis with multi-resistant bacilli to the main antibiotics was noted in France in 2022 after the arrival of cases from Ukraine and Georgia, points out another BEH publication.
Over the last 10 years, however, the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis has experienced “several revolutions with the discovery of new anti-tuberculosis drugs, the repositioning of known antibiotics and the results of several therapeutic trials combining these molecules”. World Tuberculosis Day is coming soon, on March 24.
--------------------------------------------
See also (in French):
Weekly epidemiological bulletin, March 19, 2024, n°6-7
Published on March 19, 2024
Updated on March 19, 2024
PDF 0.96 MB
