What is the Most Troublesome Transmissible Disease Around the World?

Transmissible diseases, also known as infectious or communicable diseases, are illnesses that spread from person to person through breathing in an airborne disease, contact with an infected person’s blood or bodily fluids, or being bitten by an infected insect. These diseases can range from being asymptomatic to being fatal. What is the most troublesome transmissible disease in each country?

The above visualization utilizes a Choropleth heat map to indicate the transmissible disease that is responsible for the most disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost in every country. Below, bubbles are used to represent the DALYs lost to each country’s most dangerous transmissible disease.

The following are the 10 countries that have the most DALYs lost due to their respective most dangerous transmissible diseases:

1. India: 24,836.1 DALYs lost to tuberculosis
2. Nigeria: 16,230.4 DALYs lost to lower respiratory infections
3. Pakistan: 5,861.8 DALYs lost to lower respiratory infections
4. Indonesia: 4,985.2 DALYs lost to tuberculosis
5. South Africa: 4,637.9 DALYs lost to HIV/AIDS
6. Democratic Republic of the Congo: 4,586.6 DALYs lost to lower respiratory infections
7. China: 4,209.4 DALYs lost to lower respiratory infections
8. Ethiopia: 3,267.5 DALYs lost to lower respiratory infections
9. Mozambique: 3,163.5 DALYs lost to HIV/AIDS
10. Philippines: 2,166.6 DALYs lost to lower respiratory infections

India tops the list with nearly 25,000 life years lost due to tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease that attacks the lungs. In 2020, an estimated 10 million people contracted tuberculosis, resulting in about 1.5 million deaths. Symptoms of tuberculosis include coughing, chest pain, weight loss, and fever.