Last year, around World TB Day on March 24, 2019, scientists announced the discovery of a promising new drug that proved effective against treating drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis. A diagnosis that in the past would have meant sure death, now is an illness curable in a matter of months.
TB has surpassed HIV/AIDS as the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, resulting in over a million casualties every year. Treatment, if started early and adhered to strictly, makes up the difference between a death sentence and a curable disease. Between 2000 and 2018, an estimated 58 million lives were saved through TB diagnosis and treatment.
This piece was produced in partnership with PBS NewsHour and was released on March 26, 2019.
