It’s time to end drug-resistant Tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis has claimed over 2 billion lives in the past two centuries.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease. It has claimed more lives than HIV and malaria combined. The disease’s grim history is now taking an even darker turn; strains of the disease can now withstand existing treatment options.

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) affected 558,000 people in 2017 which caused 230,000 deaths. Historically, drug resistance was unusual but most common in patients who had previously suffered from TB. Now, first-time TB patients are increasingly showing drug resistance. DR-TB is spreading from person to person leaving many vulnerable and without treatment options.

Drug resistance is forecasted to increase in high TB-burden nations including the Philippines, South Africa and Russia but also impacting Iran, India and South Africa. In 2007, the first reports emerged of totally drug-resistant TB; TB that is resistant to all first and second-line drugs. Unless these highly resistant forms are stopped, an untreatable epidemic could emerge.

Find out more about how our research is impacting developments in this area.