drug-resistant tuberculosis

Health workers share information about tuberculosis with residents of aslum neighborhoods in New Delhi. India has the greatest number of TB cases in the world.

Before COVID, TB was the world's worst pathogen. It's still a 'monster' killer

7:01am February 13, 2022

by Susan Brink

It was under control. And then it wasn't. In her new book Phantom Plague: How Tuberculosis Shaped History, VIdya Krishnan shows how "we repeat the same disease-spreading mistakes over and over."

A quartz UV germicidal lamp is used to disinfect a train at the Sviblovo station of the Moscow Metro transit system.

Health & Safety

Coronavirus Sparks New Interest In Using Ultraviolet Light To Disinfect Indoor Air

4:29pm July 13, 2020

by Will Stone

Germicidal ultraviolet light technology has a proven track record against indoor transmission of tuberculosis and other airborne viruses. It's now being used in some restaurants and on subways.

The three sickly beings in this 19th-century drawing represent diphtheria, scrofula (a form of tuberculosis) and cholera. The woman symbolizes the city of London.

The TB That Afflicts Much Of The World Was Likely Spread By Europeans

2:30pm October 19, 2018

by Natalie Jacewicz

A new study looks at how tuberculosis has traveled the world — and the lessons that can be learned about treatment of drug-resistant forms.

A nurse in India looks at x-ray results to see if the patient has tuberculosis.

A Teen's Family Fought To Get Her A Restricted TB Drug — And Won

2:41pm January 19, 2017

by Rina Shaikh-Lesko

A landmark ruling in the New Delhi High Court will compel the national tuberculosis program to provide a new drug to treat an 18-year-old's TB infection.

Patients in a tuberculosis center in South Africa.

Health & Safety

Why Is Extensively Drug-Resistant TB On The Rise?

5:07pm January 18, 2017

by Jason Beaubien

There are two main theories. A new study of South African patients points to the scarier of the two.

Indian tuberculosis patient Sonu Verma, 25, poses with his chest x-ray in Sonipat. The number of TB cases in India has been vastly underestimated, according to a new report from the World Health Organization.

Why Is The News About TB So Bad?

7:00am October 16, 2016

by Rina Shaikh-Lesko

A report from the World Health Organization shows that it's not a disease of the past — it's a disease of the present and likely to be a continuing problem in the future.

Jenny Tenorio Gallegos, 35, in Lima, Peru, is being treated for drug-resistant TB. The treatment lasts two years and may rob her of her hearing.

She's Got One Of The Toughest Diseases To Cure. And She's Hopeful

2:44pm May 20, 2015

by Jason Beaubien

Drug-resistant tuberculosis is a growing problem. It's spread through the air. It can kill you. And it's incredibly difficult to treat. But a program in Peru shows that the disease can be cured.

Queue Listen Now

In New York, Video Chat Trumps Quarantine To Combat TB

7:21pm December 05, 2014

by Fred Mogul

Ebola isn't the first dangerous microbe to spur calls for quarantine in American cities. But as New York City's experience with drug-resistant tuberculosis suggests, isolation isn't always best.

Queue Listen Now

TB patients in India embroider curtains while they undergo treatment. India saw 1.2 million new cases of the infectious disease last year.

Bad And Good News About The Second Deadliest Infectious Disease

2:09pm October 22, 2014

by Eve Conant

The number of tuberculosis cases is far higher than previously thought. And Ebola is making some patients stay away from hospitals. Yet the mortality rate is dropping.