Tuberculosis cases rise among young people in the EU

Lisbon – The number of tuberculosis cases in children under 15 increased by 10% in the European region in 2023 compared to the previous year, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned today.
In a statement, the ECDC and the European delegation of the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the “worrying increase” in pediatric tuberculosis, which accounted for 4.3% of the total disease cases recorded in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries in 2023.
“The increase in tuberculosis among children shows that transmission in the European region is still ongoing, and immediate public health measures are needed to control and reduce the growing burden” of the disease, the two entities stated.
The conclusions of the 2025 surveillance report highlight the increasing burden of the disease in younger populations, with an increase of more than 650 cases between 2022 and 2023.
The ECDC and WHO also expressed “great concern” that in one in five children there is no information on whether their treatment was completed, an uncertainty that could result in the emergence of drug-resistant tuberculosis and new transmissions.
The latest data from the 2025 report also indicate that although the European region is recovering from the impact of the covid-19 crisis, the effects of the pandemic continue to be felt in testing, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of tuberculosis.
In the WHO European region, which covers Europe and Central Asia, more than 172,000 new and recurrent tuberculosis cases were reported in 2023, while in the EU/EEA nearly 37,000 people were diagnosed with the disease, an increase from the 35,000 reported the previous year.
The two organizations noted that it is concerning that multidrug-resistant tuberculosis remains a significant challenge in the WHO European region, with treatment success rates for patients “falling far short of expectations.”
Portugal recorded 1,584 tuberculosis cases in 2023, maintaining the notification rate at 14.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, with the Lisbon and Tagus Valley and Northern regions having the highest incidences.
The data, which are part of the tuberculosis surveillance and monitoring report in Portugal by the Directorate-General of Health (DGS), released on World Tuberculosis Day, indicate that of the 1,584 notified tuberculosis cases, 1,461 were new cases and 123 retreatments.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that is transmitted mainly through the air, that is, by inhalation of droplets expelled by the sick person when coughing, speaking or sneezing. (24/03/25)