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Argentina Issues New TB Rules as Cases Top 17,000

The update focuses on faster diagnosis, steady drug supply, stronger coordination during a surge in younger groups.

Overview

  • Argentina’s Health Ministry published a revised tuberculosis playbook last week, with World TB Day marked on Tuesday, to standardize diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up across the health system.
  • National reports show more than 17,000 TB notifications in 2025, up about 80% since 2020, with 60.7% of cases in people ages 15 to 44 and Salta posting the highest incidence.
  • Specialists urge wider use of rapid molecular tests such as GeneXpert and a guaranteed flow of first- and second-line drugs to spot resistance early and keep patients on therapy.
  • Clinicians warn that dissolving the national TB coordination in 2024 and delays in drug purchasing hinder case finding and left some provinces short of medicines.
  • Local data point to uneven impact, with Buenos Aires province and the capital accounting for two-thirds of cases, Salta reporting 946 in 2025, Mendoza citing a far lower rate, and health agencies in Argentina, Mexico, and Peru urging early testing, BCG at birth, and completion of six-month treatment.