World Tuberculosis Day

22 Mar 2022

World Tuberculosis (TB) day takes place on 24 March each year to help raise public awareness and step-up efforts to end the global TB pandemic.

TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infections. Every day:

• more than 28,000 people become unwell with TB
• more than 4100 people lose their lives to this preventable and curable disease

The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of progress made in the global fight against TB and for the first time in a decade, TB deaths sadly increased in 2020.

The theme for World TB Day 2022 is 'Invest to End TB. Save Lives' to remind global leaders that they need to urgently invest resources to ramp up the fight against TB and achieve their commitment to #EndTB.

• Further information about World TB Day 2021 can be found here

Advice for travellers

TB is a bacterial infection which is spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person sneezes or coughs.

If you are in close contact with an infected person, these droplets might land in your eyes, nose or mouth causing infection, or you might touch a surface which has become infected with droplets and then transfer them to your eyes, nose or mouth with your hands.

TB can affect any part of the body, including the lungs.

• See the fitfortravel Tuberculosis page for further information