New directions for tuberculosis elimination
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Title
Improving Societal Systems to End Tuberculosis
Publication Date
2025
Abstract
There is perhaps no other disease that has caused and continues to cause as much devastation to human society as tuberculosis (TB). An ancient scourge, we have archaeological evidence of tuberculosis from across the globe, dating back thousands of years, with some genomics analyses suggesting its emergence millions of years ago [1, 2]. Human crowding likely drove the risk of spread via its airborne pathway during certain historical periods, with elevated TB morbidity and mortality (including after wartime). TB today remains globally one of the most important contributors to human morbidity and mortality. As recently as the early twentieth century, TB was commonly the leading cause of death in the U.S. and other highly developed nations, and TB still accounts for the greatest burden of mortality on the planet attributable to a single pathogen. The most recent global burden of disease report using 2021 data, ranked TB as the leading contributor to global disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), with 65.1 million per year (uncertainty limits 59.0–72.1 million), substantially higher than the next highest contributors of malaria (53.6 [27.0–91.3] million) and HIV (52.1 [47.0–60.9] million) [3]. The emergence of effective antibiotic therapies in the middle of the twentieth century shifted the burden of disease toward communities with lower access to treatment regiments, while crowding, low indoor ventilation, and immunosuppression associated with HIV provided key drivers of transmission.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.115600
Recommended Citation
Bueno de Mesquita, P.J. (2025). New directions for tuberculosis elimination. In Improving Societal Systems to End Tuberculosis. IntechOpen. Bueno de Mesquita, P.J. (Editor)
ISBN
978-0-85014-456-7
Comments
Published in: Improving Societal Systems to End Tuberculosis. IntechOpen. Bueno de Mesquita, P.J. (Book Editor) DOI:10.5772/intechopen.114554. IBSN 978-0-85014-457-4 (eBook IBSN 978-0-85014-458-1).