Season 5 Episode 7

Talking Tuberculosis

The deadliest infectious disease in the world is not malaria. It’s not HIV. It’s not even COVID-19. The deadliest infectious disease in the world is tuberculosis (TB). In 2023 alone, 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB globally, with 1.35 million people dying of the disease.

Tuberculosis in humans has been traced back 9,000 years and was officially discovered in 1882. Throughout its history, TB has been viewed through varying lenses. In the 19^th century, it was referred to as “consumption” referencing the severe weight loss thought to represent the disease consuming the patient. Consumption was considered a “fashionable disease,” with the illness causing pale skin, red lips, and extreme thinness.

As we have shifted into the 21^st century, TB is mostly controlled in the Western world, while low- and middle-income countries bear 98% of the TB burden. Tuberculosis is preventable through vaccination and curable with a 6-month course of antibiotics, but centuries of negligence have created drug-resistant strains.

In 2023, worldwide funding for TB prevention and care has decreased, only amassing to 26% of the global target. Further fears have arisen since the Trump administration has withdrawn the U.S. from the World Health Organization, cutting off a major source of funding to global health initiatives. Underfunding impedes the development and distribution of TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment efforts, effectively abandoning global citizens most in need.

Why is a curable and preventable disease still rampant across the world when low-cost solutions exist? Why has TB persisted beyond social changes and technological advances? In other words, how can we act to address the global TB crisis?

In this episode of PHPod, host Abby Varker speaks with global health researcher and tuberculosis expert, Leonardo Martinez, to explore the historical and epidemiological complexities of tuberculosis and examine possible interventions to increase funding and decrease cases worldwide. Martinez is an assistant professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health, studying tuberculosis transmission in high-risk populations.