On the way to eradication, TB makes a frightening comeback

Once on its way to global eradication, tuberculosis (TB) is now staging a frightening comeback in some regions. In fact, every second a new person is infected with TB bacilli—and the potential to develop active disease.

While the number of new TB cases is leveling off or declining in most parts of the world, the scourge is becoming increasingly prevalent in Eastern Europe and Africa. There, outdated methods haven’t caught up to today’s technologies, and doctors are hampered by a lack of up-to-date information. In addition, rising rates of HIV and other infections that weaken the immune system are quickening the spread of TB.

PATH is working with partners and coalitions to bring internationally recommended treatment strategies more effectively to more people. We’re reaching out to patients, health care providers, and the public with accurate information about TB, and we’re connecting health systems with the resources needed for efficient diagnosis and care.

In places where high rates of AIDS pose an added hurdle to controlling TB, PATH is scaling up efforts to integrate TB and HIV services, ensuring that millions of people can be treated for both infections.

There’s still work to be done before TB can be stamped out completely, but PATH is rising to the challenge of eliminating tuberculosis as a public health crisis.

Photo: PATH (Mike Wang).