Early detection and prompt treatment of tuberculosis (TB) are the main pillars on the way to ending TB as they help prevent further transmission. Finding those at risk of developing infection, however, requires extra efforts, particularly in settings where TB incidence levels are generally low, i.e., when there are less than 10 TB cases per 100,000 population.

Nearly 7,000 excess deaths from TB occurred in the WHO European Region in the three years of the pandemic from 2020-2022, compared to what experts had expected based on pre-2020 estimates.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) released a report providing an overview of the dynamics and geographical distribution of rifampicin-resistant (RR)- and multidrug-resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA), focussing on the strains isolated in 2020−2022, and comparing this with whole genome sequencing data collected in 2017−2019 as a part of an EU/EEA pilot project on TB molecular surveillance.

For 2021, the 30 countries in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) reported a total of 33 527 tuberculosis (TB) cases (7.4 per 100 000 population).

On World TB Day 2023, ECDC and WHO/Europe issue a sobering warning that, despite having the tools to end TB, the European Region remains a long way from meeting its End TB Strategy targets.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) will host a webinar on 22 March 2023 to mark World TB Day, 'Measuring progress, moving forward towards Ending TB in Europe and Central Asia'.

7 Apr 2022: In the context of the mass influx of refugees from Ukraine into the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) and other European countries, ECDC and the WHO Regional Office for Europe are releasing today an information note on testing for tuberculosis infection and screening for tuberculosis disease.

ECDC and WHO/Europe release a joint report providing an overview of the latest TB epidemiological situation in the WHO European Region.

TB burden in the WHO European Region as a whole is decreasing. However, TB is second only to COVID-19 as an infectious disease that kills, and drug resistance is a major concern.

For 2018, 30 countries in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) reported a total of 52 862 tuberculosis (TB) cases (10.2 per 100 000 population).