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Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by germs that are spread from a person through the air. TB usually affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, kidneys, or spine. TB is also one of the most highly infectious diseases today.

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It has been hypothesized that the genus for TB originated more than 150 million years ago. Egyptian mummies, dating back to 2400 BC, reveal skeletal deformities typical of tuberculosis. The first written documents describing TB, dating back to 3300 and 2300 years ago, were found in India and in China. However in 1720, for the first time, the infectious origin of TB was conjectured by the English physician Benjamin Marten.

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Tuberculosis is considered an infectious disease. Infectious diseases are illnesses caused by germs (such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi) that enter the body, multiply, and can cause an infection. Some infectious diseases are contagious (or communicable), meaning they are capable of spreading from one person to another.

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TB is the leading infectious disease killer in the world, claiming 1.5 million lives each year. About 1.8 billion people, or one-quarter of the world's population, are infected with tuberculosis but most of these people have latent TB. About 10 million people have active TB worldwide. A quarter of the global population is estimated to be infected with latent TB. One in ten of these people will go on to develop the disease.

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The earliest written mentions of TB were in India (3,300 years ago) and China (2,300 years ago). Throughout the 1600-1800s in Europe, TB caused 25% of all deaths. Similar numbers then occurred in the United States. In 1889, Dr. Hermann Biggs convinced the New York City Department of Health and Hygiene that doctors should report TB cases to the health department, leading to the first published report on TB in New York City in 1893. CDC published nationwide TB data for the first time in 1953, reporting 84,304 cases of TB in the United States. About half of all people with TB can be found in 8 countries: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines and South Africa.

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis, also known as Koch's bacillus, is a species of pathogenic bacteria in the family Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis. First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch, M. tuberculosis has an unusual, waxy coating on its cell surface primarily due to the presence of mycolic acid. However, not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick.

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The U.S. government (U.S.) involvement in global TB efforts was relatively limited until the late 1990s. Since that time, its efforts to address TB have grown, and now the U.S. is one of the largest donors to global TB control. U.S. TB activities reach more than 50 countries (including at least 20 of the 30 high burden countries where most new cases are occurring), and focus on preventing, detecting, and treating TB, including drug-resistant TB, as well as research and development. U.S. funding for global TB efforts was $406 million in FY 2023, up from $233 million in FY 2013. Additionally, the U.S. is the largest donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). In 2018, the U.N. General Assembly held its first-ever high-level meeting (HLM) on TB, where world leaders adopted a new Political Declaration that reaffirmed global TB commitments.²⁷ The Political Declaration also articulated commitments on TB research and innovation, and a framework to help countries implement these commitments – the Global Strategy for Tuberculosis Research and Innovation – was adopted by governments at the 2020 World Health Assembly.²⁸ The second U.N. high-level meeting on TB will take place on September 22, 2023.²⁹

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On POC diagnostics, scientists acknowledged biomarker-based tests currently under clinical evaluation and review, including the second-generation lateral flow lipoarabinomannan assay using urine samples. These tests hold promise for people living with HIV/AIDS, and may have the potential to be expanded as a POC test for all TB cases. WHO plans to convene a Guideline Development Group in 2022 to review the clinical evidence for these tests, she said. On the other hand, Swaminathan noted, multi-disease diagnostic platforms such as GeneXpert and Truenat, among others, could be more robust, used more broadly in family health centers, and expanded in multiplex capabilities in order to achieve better cost and efficiency. She offered hope that the wider use of molecular technologies will reduce the reliance on suboptimal tools like smear microscopy.
In summary, Swaminathan reiterated the challenges and opportunities in advancing TB diagnostics:

1.) Meeting global TB elimination goals is doubtful without new and more effective diagnostic tools; this is a neglected and underfunded research area.

2.) Digital tools will play a key role in the future, but more research is needed to accurately measure their impacts on health outcomes.

3.) Data sharing poses an important opportunity, but effective governance may be needed to ensure trust, confidentiality, and responsible use.
4.) Global multilateral mechanisms similar to the Access to ACT-A may serve as a model for developing and ensuring equitable access to address TB needs.

some of these innovative inventions are:

- POC biomarker and other rapid diagnostic tests.
- Multi-disease platform diagnostics

- Next-generation genetic sequencing.

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Virulence is described as an ability of an organism to infect the host and cause a disease. Virulence factors are the molecules that assist the bacterium colonize the host at the cellular level. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a virulent intracellular pathogen that has evolved sophisticated strategies to infect and persist in host macrophages. These virulent factors include Phthiocerol dimycocerosate (PDIM) and phenolic glycolipids (PGL). However, over time with knowledge and  different methods of treatment TB has become less virulent.

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Tuberculosis has been infecting people for as long as time goes back. Throughout the years there have been many obstacles towards eliminating this disease. However, one of the biggest drawbacks is that there is still no cure for TB. There are vaccines and treatments to aid in preventing the infection from worsening. In order to fix this problem there should be more social awareness towards the disease. A big barrier in finding a cure to TB is social support. Patient support is needed to help people cope and stay in care, yet this is lacking in most parts of the world where it is prominent. “Funding is needed to ensure the implementation of a quality counselling support package that includes treatment initiation counselling, a family home visit, contact tracing, and support when patients face problems,” says Leigh-Ann Snyman, DR-TB Patient support manager with MSF.

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Tuberculosis (TB) research and innovation is essential to achieve the global TB targets of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the World Health Organization (WHO) End TB Strategy. These include newer skin tests for TB infection based on recombinant early secretory antigen target (ESAT)-6 and culture filtrate protein (CFP)-10 antigens, with better performance than tuberculin skin tests. Six new technologies for the molecular detection of TB and resistance to anti-TB drugs were endorsed by WHO in 2021. These are: FluoroType MTB and MTBDR, Hain Lifescience, Germany; Abbott RealTime MTB and MTB RIF/INH on m2000sp and m2000rt systems, Abbott, USA; BD Max MDR-TB, Becton Dickinson, USA; Roche cobas® MTB and MTB-RIF/INH on Cobas 6800/880 systems, Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland; Genoscholar PZA TB II, Nipro, Japan; and Xpert MTB/XDR cartridge, Cepheid, USA. In August 2021, there were 25 drugs for the treatment of drug-susceptible TB, multidrug-resistant TB.

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The antibiotic, which was discovered by a researcher in the U.S. in 1943, is part of a class of drugs called aminoglycoside antibiotics. It is the first effective treatment for TB and works by killing the bacteria that cause the disease. A novel and potent antibiotic called rifampin is discovered in Italy in 1965, which helps cut treatment time from 18 to 24 months to six to nine months. The first medicine for TB in more than 40 years with a novel mechanism of action receives accelerated approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, due in large part to results from a Phase 2 clinical trial.

After 24 weeks of treatment, almost 79% of patients in the group treated with the drug tested negative for TB. In August 2022, the Project to Accelerate New Treatments for Tuberculosis (PAN-TB) collaboration—a consortium of philanthropic, nonprofit and private sector organizations, of which Johnson & Johnson is a founding member

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Tuberculosis is a disease I've known through only textbooks and never in my personal life. Researching this particular disease revealed just how much of an impact it has had globally over centuries. A surprising factor was the amount of stigma surrounding TB. People who are discriminated against may be isolated socially, particularly in small communities – even entire families may be shunned. Women are often blamed as the source of TB, and those affected by the illness may be divorced or considered unworthy of marriage. This kind of stigma deters people from getting the treatment they need. Something this padlet is missing is ways to stop the stigma around this disease and raise awareness to treat it. There are many ways to stop TB sigma like funding for communities, promote human rights, and strengthen partnerships. These actions could be a big step into curing tuberculosis.

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A tuberculosis (TB) infection control plan is part of a general infection control program designed to ensure the following:

prompt detection of infectious TB patients,

airborne precautions, and

treatment of people who have suspected or confirmed TB disease.

In all health care settings, particularly those in which people are at high risk for exposure to TB, policies and procedures for TB control should be developed, reviewed periodically, and evaluated for effectiveness to determine the actions necessary to minimize the risk for transmission of TB.

The TB infection control program should be based on a three-level hierarchy of control measures and include:

1. Administrative measures

2. Environmental controls

3. Use of respiratory protective equipment

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In addition to the economic costs, TB causes psychological and social costs. TB patients may be rejected by family and friends or lose their jobs. In some societies, TB patients are seen as damaged for life or unmarriageable. Such discrimination can result in anxiety, depression, and reduction in the quality of life. Stigma around TB can also make people reluctant to stick with their course of treatment – over the many months this takes – for fear of being 'found out'. By taking treatment irregularly, people risk developing drug resistance. However, through proper education and coverage as society people can learn to be more judgemental and seek help.