Epidemiological Analysis of Tuberculosis Infection and Trend Changes - 152 Belt and Road Partner Countries, 2013-2021.

What is already known about this topic?: The Belt and Road Initiative promotes increased interactions among participating countries, which concurrently elevates the risk of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB). Since TB infection can significantly contribute to the disease burden, it is crucial to delineate the epidemic status and identify the change trends in TB infection among the countries involved in the initiative.

What is added by this report?: TB infection was prevalent in 152 countries along the Belt and Road initiative. Most of these countries had an infection prevalence between 10% and 30%, among which were 9 countries (5.92%) with a prevalence below 10% and 8 countries (5.26%) with a reported prevalence of 40% and higher. From 2013 to 2021, a notable reduction in TB infection prevalence was observed in 149 countries (98.03%). In contrast, Sri Lanka and the Philippines exhibited an increasing trend, while no significant change was detected in Timor-Leste.

What are the implications for public health practice?: Addressing TB surveillance, prevention, and management, as well as collaboration among these countries, is a proposed key strategy for achieving the global end TB strategy.