Tuberculosis (TB) news, resources and funding for global health researchers

A major cause of death and disability worldwide, tuberculosis is a contagious lung disease that spreads through the air when people infected with it cough, sneeze, talk or spit. TB is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which usually attacks the lungs, but can affect other parts of the body like the kidney, spine and brain. The disease can be fatal if not treated properly.

According to the World Health Organization, there are almost 2 million TB-related deaths each year, and more than 9 million people around the world become sick with the disease annually. In 2009, almost 10 million children were orphaned as a result of parental deaths caused by TB. The spread of multidrug-resistant TB is a growing global threat, with hundreds of thousands of new cases emerging each year.

TB coinfection with HIV/AIDS is also a serious health issue and a leading cause of death worldwide among people with HIV. Several NIH research and research training programs are helping to reduce the impact of tuberculosis both in the U.S. and overseas.

Grant Awards Related to TB

• View a list of Fogarty grant awards related to tuberculosis (TB).

Recent News

• WHO announces plans to establish a TB Vaccine Accelerator council
  WHO news, January 17, 2023
• Tuberculosis deaths and disease increase during the COVID-19 pandemic
  WHO news, October 27, 2022
  
• Bedaquiline–Pretomanid–Linezolid Regimens for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis, co-authored by Fogarty trainees Lali Mikiashvili and Ebrahim Variava
  New England Journal of Medicine, September 1, 2022
• Accuracy of Tongue Swab Testing Using Xpert MTB-RIF Ultra for Tuberculosis Diagnosis, co-authored by Fogarty trainees Alfred Andama and William Worodria
  Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 20, 2022
• Developing customized stepwise MIRU-VNTR typing for tuberculosis surveillance in Georgia
  co-authored by Fogarty grantees Drs. Nestani Tukvadze and Henry Blumberg
  PLoS One, March 1, 2022
  
• Linezolid toxicity in patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis: a prospective cohort study, Fogarty grantee Sean Wasserman lead author
  Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, February 2, 2022
• Use of integrase inhibitors in HIV-associated tuberculosis in high-burden settings: implementation challenges and research gaps, Fogarty grantee Anushka Naidoo lead author
  Lancet HIV, February 1, 2022
• Priority Activities in Child and Adolescent Tuberculosis to Close the Policy-Practice Gap in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, Fogarty grantee Karen du Preez lead author
  Pathogens, February 1, 2022
• Perspective: Covid-19’s Devastating Effect on Tuberculosis Care — A Path to Recovery
  co-authored by Fogarty trainees Dr. Madhukar Pai and Dr. Soumya Swaminathan
  New England Journal of Medicine, January 5, 2022
• Tuberculosis deaths rise for the first time in more than a decade due to the COVID-19 pandemic 
  WHO news release, October 14, 2021
  
• Landmark [international] TB trial identifies shorter-course treatment regimen
  NIAID/NIH news, October 21, 2020
  
• New research tool supports scale-up of digital technologies to end TB
  TDR news, March 24, 2020
• Recent advances in addressing tuberculosis give hope for future
  NIAID/NIH news, February 11, 2020
  

Related Fogarty News and Information

• Tackling tobacco, TB, and mental health in South Africa
  Nov/Dec 2022 Global Health Matters
• Treatment for drug-resistant TB still effective with lower dosage and fewer side effects
  Sept/Oct 2022, Global Health Matters
  • Commentary: Tuberculosis recovery in Georgia: implementing more by 24 co-authored by Fogarty grantees Drs. Maia Kipiani, Nestani Tukvadze, and Henry Blumberg
• Resistance in the context of ancient and modern diseases: Antimicrobial resistance, HIV & TB
  May / Jun 2022 Global Health Matters
• Projects examine sex, behavior differences that impact men’s health :
  A study in Mali looks at how hormones influence immune responses to TB. A study in Vietnam tests a tobacco cessation intervention.
  Jan / Feb 2022 Global Health Matters
  
• Grantee studies nanotechnology to help eradicate tuberculosis
  Q and A with Dr Admire Dube
  Nov / Dec 2020 Global Health Matters
• Profile: Fogarty fellow Dr Mark Brady’s tuberculosis training in Peru useful in combatting COVID-19
  Jul / Aug 2020 Global Health Matters

NIH News and Resources

• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) tuberculosis (TB) topic page
• National Library of Medicine's Medline Plus tuberculosis topic page

Other US Government Resources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
  • Tuberculosis (TB) topic page
  • TB and HIV coinfection
• U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID):Tuberculosis

Other Online Resources

• World Health Organization (WHO)
• Tuberculosis topic page
• Tuberculosis fact sheet
• Global Tuberculosis Report
• World Bank: Tuberculosis control
• The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Updated January 18, 2023