Predicted impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global tuberculosis deaths in 2020

Policies widely adopted in response to the ongoing pandemic of Covid-19, particularly lockdowns and reassignments of health personnel and equipment, are impacting the performance of TB prevention and care programmes. Estimates of the impact of reductions in the performance of global TB detection and care on TB mortality over 2020 are presented. A global TB case detection decrease by an average 25% over a period of 3 months (as compared to the level of detection before the pandemic), will lead to a predicted additional 190 000 (56 000 – 406 000) TB deaths.