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 in Animals

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

Tuberculosis Causes

Tuberculosis Prognosis

History of Tuberculosis

What is the END TB Strategy?

Tuberculosis Treatment

Tuberculosis Diagnosis

Tuberculosis Transmission

Tuberculosis Prevention

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Tuberculosis Screening

Latest Tuberculosis News and Research

Global health study warns of rising youth deaths amid declining overall mortality

Global mortality rates are falling but not among youths and young adults, according to the latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study published in The Lancet today and presented at the World Health Summit in Berlin.

13 Oct 2025

Study reveals how RfaH protein acts as a protective shield for bacterial genes

Researchers at Umeå University have identified a key molecular player that helps bacteria survive the hostile environment inside the body.

9 Oct 2025

Rare spacecraft bacterium found to evade detection by playing dead

A rare microorganism found in an unexpected environment may be evading detection by "playing dead," according to microbiologists at the University of Houston.

8 Oct 2025

PAHO introduces new tool to accelerate disease elimination in the Americas

During a briefing session at the 62nd Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), officials presented a new technical tool to help countries in the Region of the Americas accelerate the elimination of more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions.

6 Oct 2025

Inflammation at the heart’s core: What clinicians and families can do now

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a key driver of cardiovascular disease, even when cholesterol is controlled. The ACC’s 2025 Scientific Statement highlights hsCRP as a routine risk marker and outlines lifestyle and pharmacologic anti-inflammatory strategies for prevention and treatment.

30 Sep 2025

Second-hand smoke causes major health burden for children worldwide

Children lose 8.45 million days of healthy life each year globally due to second hand smoke, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

29 Sep 2025

In hepatitis B vaccine debate, CDC panel sidesteps key exposure risk

The Trump administration is continuing its push to revise federal guidelines to delay the hepatitis B vaccine newborn dose for most children.

29 Sep 2025

Gladstone researchers expand mission to tackle emerging infectious threats

From influenza and COVID-19 to HIV, viruses continue to pose a serious danger to global health.

25 Sep 2025

HIV protein Tat found to increase vulnerability to tuberculosis

According to the World Health Organization, tuberculosis accounts for one in three deaths among people living with HIV.

18 Sep 2025

CRISPR-based tongue swab test shows promise for tuberculosis detection

Tulane University researchers have developed an enhanced CRISPR-based tuberculosis test that works with a simple tongue swab, a potential breakthrough that could allow easier, community-based screenings for the world's deadliest infectious disease.

17 Sep 2025

Researchers reveal why no level of air pollution is safe for respiratory health

A review in the Journal of Clinical Investigation shows how particulate matter damages the lungs through oxidative stress, inflammation, and immune disruption. It links air pollution to asthma, COPD, lung cancer, infections, and millions of premature deaths, with no safe exposure threshold.

9 Sep 2025

New experimental system replicates tuberculosis transmission with unprecedented precision

Tuberculosis has been a scourge upon humanity throughout history. In killing more than a million each year worldwide, it remains the leading cause of death from a single infectious pathogen.

28 Aug 2025

Blue states that sued kept most CDC grants, while red states feel brunt of Trump clawbacks

The Trump administration's cuts to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of a state, according to a KFF Health News analysis.

26 Aug 2025

AI tool reveals how TB drugs kill bacteria at the molecular level

Tuberculosis (TB) is the world's deadliest infectious disease—and one of the hardest to cure. Standard treatment requires a cocktail of multiple drugs over at least six months, and one in five patients have a type of TB that resists these first-line medications.

25 Aug 2025

Artificial intelligence enables discovery of novel compounds to fight drug-resistant bacteria

With help from artificial intelligence, MIT researchers have designed novel antibiotics that can combat two hard-to-treat infections: drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae and multi-drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

14 Aug 2025

Old Parkinson's medication offers new hope for tuberculosis treatment

A medication developed in the 1950s to treat Parkinson's disease may offer a powerful new tool in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), according to new research from the University of British Columbia.

12 Aug 2025

Study finds rapid spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria among malnourished children in Niger

A new study led by researchers at the Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research (IOI) has found that antimicrobial resistant bacteria is spreading rapidly among children being treated for severe malnutrition in a hospital facility in Niger.

1 Aug 2025

Timor-Leste achieves historic malaria-free status

The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Timor-Leste as malaria-free, a remarkable achievement for a country that prioritized the disease and embarked on a concerted, nation-wide response shortly after gaining independence in 2002.

24 Jul 2025

Surprise medical Bills Were Supposed To Be A Thing Of The Past. Surprise — they’re not.

Last year in Massachusetts, after finding lumps in her breast, Jessica Chen went to Lowell General Hospital-Saints Campus, part of Tufts Medicine, for a mammogram and sonogram.

18 Jul 2025

endTB-Q trial highlights importance of individualized regimens

Some patients with highly drug-resistant tuberculosis could benefit from a shorter treatment with fewer drugs while others may warrant more aggressive therapy, according to the findings of a new study led by an international group of researchers including scientists from Harvard Medical School and conducted across six countries in Asia, Africa, and South America.

17 Jul 2025