Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection caused by a germ called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but they can also damage other parts of the body. TB spreads through the air when a person with TB of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes or talks. If you think you have been exposed, you should go to your doctor for tests as soon as possible. You are more likely to get TB if you have a weak immune system.

What is Tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis (TB) is a dreaded bacterial infection. It has been known to mankind since ancient ages. It was commonly called “consumption” at the turn of the last century because of the way the disease seemed to “consume” the individual it affected.

How Has The COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Tuberculosis Eradication?

Tuberculosis Causes

Tuberculosis Diagnosis

Tuberculosis Prevention

Tuberculosis Screening

Tuberculosis Treatment

Tuberculosis Prognosis

History of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis in Animals

Tuberculosis Transmission

New tuberculosis technologies: importance of access in the private health sector

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What is the END TB Strategy?

Latest Tuberculosis News and Research

The path to a better tuberculosis vaccine runs through Montana

A team of Montana researchers is playing a key role in the development of a more effective vaccine against tuberculosis, an infectious disease that has killed more people than any other.

18 Apr 2024

Global disease burden study highlights COVID-19 impact and health inequities

Rates of early death and poor health caused by HIV/AIDS and diarrhea have been cut in half since 2010, and the rate of disease burden caused by injuries has dropped by a quarter in the same time period, after accounting for differences in age and population size across countries, based on a new study published in The Lancet. The study measures the burden of disease in years lost to early death and poor health.

17 Apr 2024

Study reveals lasting lung damage in tuberculosis survivors

New research being presented at this year's ESCMID Global Congress (formerly ECCMID) in Barcelona, Spain (27-30 April) has found compelling evidence that tuberculosis (TB) can have a lasting impact on the lungs of individuals who have been successfully treated for the disease.

15 Apr 2024

Netherlands and WHO forge stronger partnership in global health agenda

The WHO and the Netherlands convened in The Hague on 10 April 2024, to discuss joint priorities and alignment between the Dutch Global Health Strategy and WHO's key strategic goals, marking a new milestone in their longstanding partnership.

15 Apr 2024

Rethinking the germ theory: A balanced take on microbes and disease outcomes

Review explores the complexities of infectious disease outcomes through a balanced perspective, emphasizing the interplay between pathogenic microbes and host conditions, challenging the traditional germ-disease theory by proposing a more integrated view that considers both pathogen virulence and host immunity's impact on disease manifestation.

10 Apr 2024

Global increase in deaths from viral hepatitis revealed in WHO report

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2024 Global Hepatitis Report, the number of lives lost due to viral hepatitis is increasing.

10 Apr 2024

New study finds interferon-γ release assays more effective than skin tests in predicting tuberculosis

The performance of tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) in predicting tuberculosis (TB).

5 Apr 2024

Tuberculosis linked to increased risk of cancer, study finds

A population-wide observational study to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2024) in Barcelona, Spain (27-30 April) shows an association between tuberculosis (TB) and cancer, with those with current or previous TB more likely to have a diagnosis of a variety of cancers, including lung, blood, gynaecological and colorectal cancers.

1 Apr 2024

WHO releases an investment case for TB screening and preventive treatment

Ahead of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, which is marked on 24 March, WHO has released an investment case for TB screening and preventive treatment. A modeling study developed with Governments of four countries - Brazil, Georgia, Kenya and South Africa - highlights the impact to be achieved from expanding TB screening and preventive treatment.

29 Mar 2024

Global leaders set ambitious targets to end tuberculosis epidemic

World leaders at the United Nations General Assembly's High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis have approved a Political Declaration with ambitious new targets for the next five years to advance the global efforts towards ending the TB epidemic.

28 Mar 2024

Enzymatic cocktail emerges as new hope against mycobacterial infections

With resistance to chemical antibiotics on the rise, the world needs entirely new forms of antibiotics. A new study published in Microbiology Spectrum, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, shows that an enzymatic cocktail can kill a variety of mycobacterial species of bacteria, including those that cause tuberculosis.

27 Mar 2024

Redefining tuberculosis classification to enhance early detection and treatment

A new way to classify tuberculosis (TB) that aims to improve focus on the early stages of the disease has been launched by an international team including researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

26 Mar 2024

Global fight against TB misses 2020 WHO milestones, despite progress in certain age groups

The global, national, and regional burden and trends in tuberculosis.

26 Mar 2024

Leveraging cancer therapies to combat tuberculosis

What could cancer teach us about tuberculosis? That's a question Meenal Datta has been chasing since she was a graduate student.

25 Mar 2024

Experts advocate three-pronged approach to identifying missing tuberculosis cases

In the journey towards a world free of Tuberculosis (TB), the crucial first step begins with identifying individuals affected by the disease.

25 Mar 2024

New classification of tuberculosis aims to improve focus on the early stages of disease

A new way to classify tuberculosis (TB) that aims to improve focus on the early stages of the disease has been presented by an international team involving researchers at UCL.

22 Mar 2024

More than 80% of patients with tuberculosis do not have persistent cough, study shows

More than 80% of patients with tuberculosis, the world's most deadly infection, do not have a persistent cough, despite this being seen as a key symptom of the disease.

12 Mar 2024

Mtb bacteria detected in exhaled breath of 90% of individuals presenting with suspected tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacteria that causes a tuberculosis infection, is present in exhaled breath of 90% of those presenting with suspected tuberculosis.

11 Mar 2024

Social workers bridge the gap in HIV care for hospitalized patients in Tanzania

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have shown that three months of social worker follow-up support to people hospitalized with HIV in Tanzania had health benefits at low cost.

11 Mar 2024

Breakthrough blood test developed for early detection of sarcoidosis

A research project led by Lobelia Samavati, M.D., professor of internal medicine and molecular medicine and genetics at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has developed a tool to rapidly and inexpensively diagnose sarcoidosis, a chronic inflammatory disease marked by the growth of tiny lumps called granulomas in the lungs and other organs.

28 Feb 2024