As of: March 20, 2024, 9:32 p.m
By: Sophia Lother, Romina Kunze
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The symptoms are inconspicuous, the consequences can be fatal: tuberculosis is back, also in Germany.
It becomes dangerous if it remains undetected.
Frankfurt – The number of cases in Germany had been declining for years, but the Robert Koch Institute is now recording an increase in tuberculosis cases again.
In the meantime, what is still the world's deadliest infectious disease has been displaced by the corona virus.
Since 2023, tuberculosis has been back at the top.
The number of cases is increasing – also in Germany.
And especially because of the deceptive clinical picture, this is not without danger.
But a new study on life expectancy due to Corona is also causing concern.
“Disease of great relevance to public health”: RKI is concerned about tuberculosis numbers
In an article published in the scientific journal
The Lancet
in 2019 , experts underlined: “Tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death from an infectious disease in adults worldwide.”
Although the level is still comparatively low, the number of tuberculosis infections is increasing again in Germany.
“Tuberculosis is still a disease of great relevance to public health internationally, but also in Germany,” said Lars Schaade, President of the RKI, in a statement.
An overview makes this clear:
Year |
Tuberculosis cases in Germany |
|---|---|
2023 |
4481 |
2022 |
4082 |
2021 |
3931 |
2020 |
4159 |
2019 |
4811 |
Source: RKI press release |
Warning signs and symptoms of tuberculosis disease
The deceptive thing is that 90 percent of those affected do not experience any symptoms, as
healthy.bund.de
reports
,
a service of the Federal Ministry of Health.
In these cases, the immune system can deal with the bacteria independently.
The bacteria are encapsulated in some cases and can survive for years.
However, if the disease becomes noticeable, the symptoms can easily be interpreted as other causes.
Persistent coughing and exhaustion often initially indicate a flu-like infection, but can also be signs of tuberculosis.
RKI President Schaade emphasizes: “If a cough persists for a long time, tuberculosis should also be considered and further examined using an X-ray examination of the lungs in accordance with existing recommendations.”
The lungs are most commonly affected, but tuberculosis can also affect other organs.
According to
Gesund.bund.de,
in addition to a long-lasting cough, the following non-specific symptoms can indicate tuberculosis:
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Light fever
Weakness and tiredness
weight loss
Night sweats
General health is limited
Lack of appetite
Tuberculosis cases in Germany are rising again: These groups of people are particularly at risk
If an outbreak occurs in people infected with tuberculosis, it usually occurs in the first two years after an infection.
However, the disease can still occur decades later.
As the RKI informs, the infection almost always occurs through inhalation of aerosols; like the corona virus, it is also a droplet infection.
However, the incubation period, on average six to eight weeks, is significantly longer than with Covid-19 (four to six days).
The lungs in particular are affected by tuberculosis.
But it can also affect other organs.
(Symbolic photo) © Imago
Accordingly, people who have had close and long-term contact with people with infectious pulmonary tuberculosis are particularly at risk, according to the RKI.
Other risk factors include: “People with inadequately treated previous tuberculosis.
HIV, smoking, alcohol and drug addiction, malnutrition, diabetes mellitus and living conditions such as homelessness, previous imprisonment and poverty.
According to the RKI, tuberculosis disease is particularly dangerous for people with a weakened immune system, such as people on immunosuppressive therapy, with an immune deficiency or in old age.
An RKI analysis of demographic data also showed that men are almost twice as likely to develop tuberculosis as women.
The highest incidences were recorded among young adults in the 20 to 24 year old age group (10.1) and 25 to 29 year old age group (10.3).
The deadliest infectious disease in terms of numbers: tuberculosis is a man-made problem
According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), 10.6 million people worldwide became ill with tuberculosis in 2023 and 1.3 million died from it.
In 2021, the RKI recorded 112 deaths.
In most cases it can be cured with medication.
If left untreated, it is fatal in about half of the cases.
However, lack of access to medical care and general poverty mean that there are still many preventable deaths.
“It is our decision that 1.6 million people die from tuberculosis.
We can no longer say that a bacterium is killing these people.
The reality is that man-made systems are the cause of these deaths,” said author and podcaster John Green in a speech to the United Nations back in 2023.
However, experts fear that tuberculosis is developing resistance to antibiotics.
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at her own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.
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