No more excuses: Break the chain of transmission to end tuberculosis – World TB Day 2025

NEW YORK, NY – March 24, 2024 -”TB anywhere is TB everywhere,” said tuberculosis expert Philip Hopewell, MD, in the latest ATS Breathe Easy podcast.

The U.S. has one of the lowest incidence rates of TB in the world, yet in January, an outbreak caused 2 deaths, and 67 persons developed latent TB in Kansas, which set off alarm bells in public health.

On World TB Day 2025, the American Thoracic Society and the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) partners urge all stakeholders—governments, agencies, NGOs, academics, civil society and donors— to focus on evidence-based policies and programs that will break the chain of transmission to end TB in high-burden settings.

Cassandra Kelly-Cirino, PhD, executive director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), a FIRS member, stated: “We must be brave and recognise that our current approach is not going to achieve our goals – ending TB by 2030 or 2035.

“It is total injustice and failure by us all that millions of people around the world are still at high risk of TB. There are simply no more excuses for this inequity and suffering from this ancient and preventable disease.”

There is no ignoring the devastating impact the U.S. government’s decision to cut funding is having on global health and the most vulnerable people in our communities.

Dr. Kelly-Cirino concluded: “Now is not the time to cut funding and engagement in the fight against TB – we can do that once the job is done. We urge communities to pressurise their leaders to end TB. In 2025, no one should expect to be at high risk of being infected with TB.

“We call on world leaders and donors to fulfil their commitment to end TB, by significantly investing in breaking the chain of transmission to ensure all their citizens are safe from being infected in the future.”

According to the World Health Organization’s latest Global Tuberculosis Report:

• In 2023, an estimated 10.8 million people fell ill with TB and there were an estimated 1.25 million deaths worldwide
• Between 2020 and 2023, the TB incidence rate (new cases per 100 000 population per year) is estimated to have increased by 4.6 percent, reversing declines of about 2 percent per year between 2010 and 2020.
• Approximately 2.7 million people were undiagnosed with the disease or not officially reported to national authorities in 2023.

Dr. Kelly-Cirino continued: “While many people in high-income countries believe TB is a disease of the past (because it generally is, in their countries), it is very much present and impacting lives, in most countries of the world. It is an ancient disease that thrives on the kind of instability we are currently seeing due to conflict, political uncertainty and climate change.

“TB is an airborne infectious disease that does not respect borders. We all must play our part in eradicating TB in high-burden settings.”

The current difficult funding and geopolitical landscape requires the prioritisation of interventions that will have the most impact on reducing TB incidence rates (i.e. the rate of new TB infections). These interventions already exist – community-wide active case finding linked to effective treatment of people who have TB.

Guy Marks, MD, president of FIRS and The Union, explained: “In high-burden settings we must prioritise finding and treating everyone with TB. This is the only way to stop more people from being exposed, becoming infected, and infecting others. This is how we break the chain of transmission and end TB once and for all.

“The effectiveness of this approach to end TB was proven during the latter half of the 20th century in several countries in Europe, North America, East Asia and Oceania, as well as Cuba.”

ATS Resources

See the latest TB clinical practice guidelines from the American Thoracic Society, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, European Respiratory Society and the Infectious Disease Societies of the America for good news on treatment regimens for patients with drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB.

Media contact:
Dacia Morris, American Thoracic Society, dmorris@thoracic.org

About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organisation comprised of the world's leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally. The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 70,000 members globally.

FIRS comprises the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latinoamericana de Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS), the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).

About the American Thoracic Society:

Founded in 1905, the American Thoracic Society is the world's leading medical society dedicated to accelerating the advancement of global respiratory health through multidisciplinary collaboration, education, and advocacy. Core activities of the Society’s more than 16,000 members are focused on leading scientific discoveries, advancing professional development, impacting global health, and transforming patient care. Key areas of member focus include developing clinical practice guidelines, hosting the annual International Conference, publishing four peer-reviewed journals, advocating for