Why is TB still the deadliest infectious disease? | Wellcome
It’s preventable. It’s curable. And millions are still dying.
Over the last 100 years, tuberculosis research has saved countless lives. Yet, despite such a legacy, it has failed to curb the epidemic. In this explainer video, featuring Professor Willem Hanekom and Professor Henry Mwandumba, we dive deeper into the reasons behind the current TB health crisis. Progress has been slow and funding is on the decline — but a tuberculosis-free world isn’t completely out of the question, right?
00:00 Introduction
00:17 Deadly TB infection rates
01:22 The problem with the BCG vaccine
02:19 TB diagnosis and treatment
03:11 The missing millions
04:24 Multi-drug resistant TB
04:49 The current situation
05:39 Positive TB updates
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📚 SOURCES AND READING:
This video was adapted from an article we wrote in 2023: https://wellcome.org/news/tuberculosi...
For a thorough breakdown of the latest TB data, read the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2023: https://www.who.int/teams/global-tube...
In the video, we highlighted some articles on the ‘missing millions’:
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2020-00...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31178...
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed....
Venkatesan, P. published an article on TB funding compared to Covid-19: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(22...
Treatment Action Group has even more data on TB funding over the years: https://www.treatmentactiongroup.org/...
All information about the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council can be found here: https://www.who.int/initiatives/tuber...
In our conclusion, we highlighted some reports on potential new vaccines for TB:
https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1909953
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
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