Swiss tuberculosis cases reach highest level in seven years

Switzerland recorded 544 tuberculosis infections in 2025, the country's highest annual total since 2018. The figure, released by the Federal Office of Public Health on September 24, includes Liechtenstein and marks an increase of 112 cases compared with 2024.

The reporting rate rose from 4.8 to 6.0 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The increase extends a trend that began in 2022 and accelerated last year. Switzerland still recorded fewer cases than the European average of 8.4 per 100,000, according to the FOPH.

Tuberculosis remains a treatable infectious disease, but its control depends on finding cases promptly and ensuring that patients complete therapy. The latest figures put both tasks under scrutiny. The recorded treatment rate stood at 70.6%, well below the 90% benchmark set by the World Health Organization.

The FOPH attributes the rise primarily to people born abroad, teenagers and young adults. That pattern gives the national total a specific demographic shape. It also places pressure on screening, translation, follow up and continuity of care across Switzerland's health and asylum systems.

Cases among 15 to 19 year olds doubled, from 51 to 102 in one year. The group recorded the highest infection rate in the latest figures, at 22.3 cases per 100,000 people.

The age pattern is one of the clearest signals in the FOPH data. Teenagers and young adults may encounter health services through schools, reception centres, vocational training or routine medical care. Each setting can become an opportunity to identify symptoms, assess exposure and connect a patient with treatment.

Men accounted for 366 cases, considerably more than women. The source data does not give a further explanation for that difference, and the figures alone cannot establish why one group is more affected than another.

Tuberculosis can develop after an earlier infection and may spread through the air when a person has active pulmonary disease. Persistent cough, fever, night sweats, fatigue and unexplained weight loss can require medical assessment, although symptoms vary. Swiss clinicians and public health services must interpret those signs alongside a patient's medical and travel history, without treating nationality as a diagnosis.

The sharp rise among adolescents makes early detection in schools, youth services and accommodation settings especially important.

The FOPH says the increase is linked almost exclusively to people born abroad, while the total among Swiss nationals has remained stable. It points to international migration and refugee movements, as well as the global epidemiological situation, rather than a rise in local transmission.

After Swiss nationals, the largest numbers of reported cases came from people originating in Eritrea, Somalia and Afghanistan. Those figures describe where patients were born or came from. They do not indicate that nationality itself causes tuberculosis, and they should not be read as evidence of widespread transmission within Swiss communities.

The distinction matters for public health planning. People arriving from countries where tuberculosis is more common may need timely assessment, particularly when they move through reception systems or change accommodation. Services must also account for language barriers, interrupted journeys and different levels of familiarity with Swiss healthcare.

Switzerland's overall rate remains comparatively low by European standards. The country nevertheless needs systems that can identify active disease quickly and protect patients from treatment interruptions. That includes coordinated work by cantonal authorities, asylum centres, hospitals, primary care providers and the FOPH.

The data points to a targeted prevention challenge, not a generalised national outbreak.

Only 70.6% of concluded cases had a recorded treatment outcome, below the 90% target set by the World Health Organization. The FOPH says the actual rate may be higher because the available data is incomplete, yet the gap remains a warning about continuity of care.

For 14.6% of concluded cases, the corresponding notification was missing. The FOPH cites several possible reasons, including the high mobility of patients in the asylum sector. A person may move between cantons, leave a reception facility or continue treatment through another provider, making it harder to close the reporting loop.

Tuberculosis treatment often requires sustained adherence over months. Missed appointments, unclear responsibility between services and difficulties obtaining medication can all disrupt that process. The source does not quantify how many patients stopped treatment or developed drug resistance, so the available figures cannot support broader conclusions.

Better coordination would improve both patient care and surveillance. Clear transfer records, multilingual counselling and rapid communication between cantonal health offices and clinicians could help close missing notifications. Reliable outcome data would also allow officials to distinguish incomplete reporting from incomplete treatment, two problems that require different responses.

Switzerland's 2025 rate of 6.0 cases per 100,000 people remains below Europe's 8.4, but the national trend demands sustained attention. The rise since 2022, combined with the concentration among people born abroad and teenagers, gives health authorities clear areas for action.

The immediate priorities are practical: recognise symptoms early, provide accessible testing, explain treatment in languages patients understand and maintain contact when people move between facilities or cantons. Schools, youth services, refugee accommodation and primary care practices all sit close to the groups most represented in the new data.

The FOPH's figures also show why headline totals need careful reading. Switzerland has not reported evidence of a broad increase in local transmission, and the number among Swiss nationals has remained stable. At the same time, incomplete treatment notifications make it harder to assess outcomes with confidence.

The next reporting cycles will show whether 2025 was a peak or part of a longer rise. For now, the country has a measurable increase, a particularly affected age group and a care system that must improve its follow up. Those are concrete benchmarks for cantonal and federal public health planning.