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

Experimental cancer drug shows promise in boosting tuberculosis treatment

An experimental drug now in clinical trials as a cancer treatment could help boost the power of first-line tuberculosis (TB) treatments by helping infected cells die a gentler death, Johns Hopkins Medicine investigators report, based on mouse-model research of the lung-damaging disease.

21 Apr 2025

AI-powered lung ultrasound outperforms human experts in diagnosing tuberculosis

A pioneering study presented today at ESCMID Global 2025 has demonstrated that an AI-powered lung ultrasound outperforms human experts by 9% in diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis (TB).

14 Apr 2025

Understanding the complex spectrum of Castleman disease

Castleman disease (CD) is a rare, non-clonal lymphoproliferative disorder that manifests with a wide range of histologic and clinical features.

11 Apr 2025

WHO warns of health service disruptions due to ODA cuts

The World Health Organization (WHO) issues warning on health service disruptions reported in 70% of its surveyed country offices as a result of sudden suspensions and reductions in official development assistance (ODA) for health.

11 Apr 2025

Trump’s immigration tactics obstruct efforts to avert bird flu pandemic, researchers say

Aggressive deportation tactics have terrorized farmworkers at the center of the nation's bird flu strategy, public health workers say.

10 Apr 2025

Tulane researchers develop portable device for rapid TB diagnosis

Tulane University researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind handheld diagnostic device that can deliver rapid, accurate tuberculosis diagnoses in under an hour, according to a study published in Science Translational Medicine.

9 Apr 2025

AI model enhances detection of antibiotic resistance in deadly bacteria

Drug-resistant infections - especially from deadly bacteria like tuberculosis and staph - are a growing global health crisis.

7 Apr 2025

Enhanced tuberculosis detection in advanced HIV using stool molecular testing

The Xpert MTB/Ultra molecular diagnostic test for stool samples, until now recommended only for children, could be established as an additional test for diagnosing tuberculosis in adults living with HIV.

4 Apr 2025

Pandemic disruptions linked to lower TB diagnoses in prisons worldwide

A new study found that reported diagnoses for tuberculosis were consistently lower than expected throughout the pandemic, even though incarceration rates remained largely consistent and TB detection among the general population managed to reverse after an early-pandemic decline.

1 Apr 2025

NIH funds research to develop a game-changing HIV diagnostic tool

As of the end of 2023, nearly 40 million people worldwide were living with HIV, including approximately 1.2 million in the United States.

1 Apr 2025

New MIT method promises less painful drug injections with tiny crystals

MIT engineers have devised a new way to deliver certain drugs in higher doses with less pain, by injecting them as a suspension of tiny crystals.

24 Mar 2025

Tuberculosis cases continue to rise in Europe

New data published by ECDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe show that with almost 39,000 reported tuberculosis cases in 2023, the 29 European Union and European Economic Area (EU/ EEA) countries continue to see increases in TB notifications.

24 Mar 2025

Four breakthrough studies could revolutionize tuberculosis treatment

As of early 2025, tuberculosis cases are increasing in the U.S. This disease, often shortened to TB, causes significant lung damage and, if not treated, is almost always lethal.

22 Mar 2025

WHO urges immediate investment of resources to maintain tuberculosis care

On the occasion on World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, marked on 24 March, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for an urgent investment of resources to protect and maintain tuberculosis (TB) care and support services for people in need across regions and countries.

21 Mar 2025

Adding curcumin boosts the efficacy of bedaquiline in combating M. abscessus infections

Mycobacterium abscessus is a fast-growing, pathogenic mycobacteria that can cause lung infections, and people who have respiratory conditions or are immunocompromised face a higher risk. It can also cause skin infections.

18 Mar 2025

Over 40,000 new gut microbes discovered in African populations

More than 40,000 previously unknown gut microbes in African populations could completely change how medicines work for millions of people, according to scientists.

14 Mar 2025

Study finds no link between Medicaid expansion and opioid misuse

A new study has found that extending state Medicaid coverage did not increase the likelihood of prescription opioid or benzodiazepine misuse among people who use drugs.

11 Mar 2025

Study reveals genes critical for tuberculosis survival during transmission

Tuberculosis bacteria rely on a family of genes that help them survive the challenging journey from one person's lungs to another person's during coughing, sneezing or talking, according to researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

10 Mar 2025

CDC firings undermine public health work far beyond Washington

The Trump administration’s sudden firing of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees gutted training programs across the nation whose participants bolstered the workforce of state and local public health departments that for decades have been starved of resources.

5 Mar 2025

Global study sheds light on differences in medicine taste sensitivity

Many medicines taste so bitter that some people avoid taking them. To help with the bad taste, flavors and sweeteners are added to modify the taste and make it more acceptable.

4 Mar 2025