Abstract
In 2021, 1.6 million people worldwide died of tuberculosis. This cause of death ranked second only to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Tuberculosis is an infectious disease with a high disease burden. According to the World Health Organization, the negative impact of COVID-19 will continue after 2021. The mortality rate of tuberculosis has been at the highest level since 2021. The global mortality rate of tuberculosis (1.6 million) increased by 6.7% in 2021 compared with that in the previous year (1.5 million), and the number of tuberculosis deaths in the Republic of Korea (1,430 persons, 2.8 per 100,000) also increased by 5.5% compared with that in the previous year (1,356 persons, 2.6 per 100,000). The number of tuberculosis deaths in 2021 increased compared with that in the previous year but decreased by 42.7% compared with that in 2010 (2,365 persons, 4.7 per 100,000) and by 15.8% compared with that in 2019 (1,610 persons, 3.1 per 100,000). This may be the result of active promotion of the National Tuberculosis Management Policy since 2010. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency aims to continue implementing national tuberculosis management policies and employing government efforts to reduce tuberculosis deaths by strengthening the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with tuberculosis and enhancing treatment success rates.