European Region Misses 1 in 5 TB Cases: WHO Europe and ECDC Publish New Joint Surveillance Report

23 March 2026

ECDC announcement

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe released the joint report ‘Tuberculosis surveillance and monitoring in Europe 2026 – 2024 data’.

The report reveals that the European Region, covering 53 countries across Europe and Central Asia, including the 30 countries of the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), continues to fall short of regional and global End TB milestones on two fronts: a persistent detection challenge, with one in five TB cases going undiagnosed or unreported, and drug-resistance levels that remain far higher than in other regions. These twin crises are inseparable. People who are diagnosed late have a higher chance of transmitting TB to others and are harder to treat. More TB transmission may result in high numbers of people with treatment failure, which is a primary driver of resistance. Closing the detection gap and tackling drug resistance are not parallel priorities, but part of the same fight.

While TB incidence across the WHO European Region has fallen by 39% since 2015, and the number of deaths by 49%, both figures fall well below the End TB Strategy’s 2025 milestones of 50% and 75%, respectively. Similar to the European Region, TB cases within the EU/EEA have decreased by 33% and the number of deaths by 17%, however most EU/EEA countries will not achieve their 2030 targets, resulting in thousands of new infections and deaths that could be prevented.

Read the full announcement here.

Access ‘Tuberculosis surveillance and monitoring in Europe 2026 – 2024 data’ here.

Access all ECDC campaign materials in relation to World TB Day here.

 

Source: ECDC