WHO Urges Faster TB Diagnosis with New Tools & Tests | World TB Day 2024
Geneva – The World Health Organization (WHO) today issued new guidelines and called for accelerated action to combat tuberculosis (TB) on World TB Day, emphasizing the potential of innovative diagnostic tools to reach more people and save lives. The push comes as global efforts to eradicate the disease face renewed threats from funding cuts and ongoing health crises.
The new guidelines focus on expanding access to point-of-care diagnostic tests, which are portable, simple to use and can deliver results in under an hour – significantly faster than traditional methods requiring centralized laboratories. These tests are also available at less than half the cost of many existing molecular diagnostics, according to the WHO. “These new tools could be truly transformative for tuberculosis, by bringing rapid, accurate diagnosis closer to people, saving lives, curbing transmission and reducing costs,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
Alongside the diagnostic advancements, the WHO is recommending the use of tongue swab samples for TB testing, particularly for individuals unable to produce sputum, a common barrier to diagnosis. The guidelines also promote sputum pooling, a cost-saving strategy where samples from multiple individuals are tested together, especially in resource-constrained settings. These methods aim to increase testing efficiency and identify cases that might otherwise be missed.
TB remains a leading infectious killer worldwide, with over 3,300 deaths occurring daily and more than 29,000 people falling ill with the preventable and curable disease each day. Although global efforts have saved an estimated 83 million lives since 2000, the WHO warns that recent cuts in global health funding are jeopardizing these gains. Uptake of rapid diagnostic tools has been hampered by high costs and logistical challenges related to sample transport.
The WHO is advocating for the scaling up of proven solutions, including point-of-care urine tests for people living with HIV and near-point-of-care tests for both HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals. These efforts are intended to close diagnostic gaps across all levels of the health system and accelerate progress towards universal access to TB and drug resistance testing.
This year’s World TB Day theme, “Yes! We can finish TB: Led by countries, powered by people,” underscores the need for urgent action in five key areas: accelerating the rollout of new diagnostic technologies, strengthening people-centered TB care with community leadership, building resilient health systems, tackling the social and economic drivers of TB through multisectoral action, and protecting essential TB services amid global crises and funding constraints.
Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Department for HIV, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections, emphasized the economic benefits of investing in TB control, stating that “Investing in TB is a strategic political and economic choice, generating up to US$ 43 in health and economic returns for every dollar spent.”
The WHO also highlighted the need for sustained investment in TB research and innovation, noting that current global funding for TB research remains significantly below the estimated annual need of around US$ 5 billion. Initiatives like the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council are working to fast-track the development and equitable access to new TB vaccines, aligning governments, researchers, funders, and industry around shared priorities.
As countries mark World TB Day 2026, the WHO is urging governments and partners to prioritize TB as a central pillar of health security and universal health coverage, while acknowledging the potential of the new diagnostic devices to also test for other diseases like HIV, mpox, and HPV.