{"id":10033,"date":"2025-03-31T13:21:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T12:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/?p=10033"},"modified":"2025-03-31T13:22:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T12:22:26","slug":"tuberculosi-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/tuberculosi-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Tuberculosis: Why have we still not managed to eradicate the infectious disease that causes the most deaths?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/USQvI31BSGU?si=rRMAt7tT97WnXFKu\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tuberculosis is one of humanity&#8217;s oldest infectious diseases and <\/span><b>the one that has caused the most deaths throughout history<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In the last 200 years alone, it has claimed the lives of more than a billion people and is still the most lethal infectious disease today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To address this major global health challenge, more and more progress is being made in prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The only vaccine available for the disease was developed in 1921 but there are currently 14 new vaccine candidates under clinical development, getting closer to being tested on humans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are social, economic and scientific challenges to eradicating tuberculosis but also promising advances that offer hope for the future. On 26 March, in a new <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/caixaresearch.org\/es\/debates-caixaresearch-tuberculosis\"><b>CaixaResearch Debate<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, we examined the situation of tuberculosis with three experts: <\/span><b>Pere-Joan Cardona <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital), <\/span><b>I\u00f1aki Comas <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Institute of Biomedicine of Valencia, IBV-CSIC) and <\/span><b>Alberto Garc\u00eda-Basteiro <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Barcelona Institute for Global Health and Manhi\u00e7a Health Research Centre).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Below we review <\/span><b>the main ideas <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that were addressed during the debate, chaired by <\/span><b>Jessica Mouzo<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a health journalist for <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El Pa\u00eds<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> newspaper.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Knowing about tuberculosis<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>What is tuberculosis?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mycobacterium tuberculosis<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which is transmitted through the air and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reaches people&#8217;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s lungs<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">different scenarios <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can occur. Some people are able to get rid of the infection; however, what usually happens is that the immune system is able to contain the infection <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in a structure called a granuloma. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A granuloma is a kind of &#8220;Chernobyl sarcophagus&#8221; that contains the infection. If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the bacterium escapes, it can produce the disease&#8221; &#8211; I\u00f1aki Comas<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>About 25% of the world&#8217;s population are infected but don\u2019t develop the disease. Why?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Once a person is infected, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">whether they actually develop TB or not depends on a number of factors <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and has a lot to do with interactions with the immune system<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. All those <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">determinants <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that affect our immune system can increase the risk of the infection progressing <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to disease<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We know that about 5-10% of those infected will develop the disease in their lifetime, mainly in the first two years post-infection<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Some of the known risk factors are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), diabetes, alcoholism, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">smoking <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and immunosuppressive drugs, which may be given, for example, to cancer patients <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">or transplant recipients<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All these factors affect the immune system<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. However, in some cases the disease develops without any apparent <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">immune disorder<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c &#8211; Alberto Garc\u00eda-Basteiro<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To develop the disease per se, the bacteria also have to move to the upper lung, which is a slightly more vulnerable area. In about half the cases we don&#8217;t know precise understanding of the exact factors that cause the disease to develop. What we do know is that malnutrition is the most important immunosuppressive factor\u201d &#8211; Pere-Joan Cardona.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Is tuberculosis easily transmitted, and what factors influence its spread?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Classically it was <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">said <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that to keep TB circulating <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you\u2019d need <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">each sick person to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">infect <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">about 10 people <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">because, of these 10 people<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, one would develop a new case <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of TB<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But the reality is more complex. It has been observed<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, for example, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that some people emit aerosols (small droplets suspended in the air that contain the bacteria) with a higher infectious capacity. The ability of <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a sick person <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to spread socially<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, to move around in different settings and infect more or fewer people, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">also plays a role&#8221; &#8211; Pere-Joan Cardona<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;It also depends quite a lot on the context and the country where it\u2019s measured. There are studies in the Netherlands that say each infected person generates less than one new case, whilst, other studies concerning countries in Sub-Saharan Africa or Southeast Asia say that it could result in three or four new cases. It depends on a large number of factors and is very complex to estimate\u201d &#8211; Alberto Garcia-Basteiro<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Tuberculosis in the world<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>How is tuberculosis distributed globally?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Eighty-five percent of cases globally are found in 20 countries. Most are in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa and Mozambique. However, globalisation and social inequalities help the disease to spread to other regions&#8221; &#8211; Pere-Joan Cardona<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;TB is a disease very much associated with poverty, so those regions with lower socio-economic development, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">poorer regions<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, have higher TB indicators. India has a large number of cases in absolute terms because it has a large population, but, in terms of cases per inhabitant, the ranking is headed by Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa&#8221; &#8211; Alberto Garc\u00eda-Basteiro<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The factors that determine the distribution of TB vary according to the context of each country. In Mozambique, for example, HIV plays a crucial role in its spread, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">while in other places it may be multi-resistance, in others diabetes&#8230;. But there\u2019s always a common theme, namely socio-economic status, the capacity of the social health system<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In all <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">countries, even the most developed, the disease emerges when the health and social support systems fail&#8221; &#8211; I\u00f1aki Comas<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Are there differences according to gender or age?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The numbers tell us that it affects more men than women <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(65% men \/ 35% women).<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> However, it\u2019s not clear whether this is due to a biological factor. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We don&#8217;t know if there\u2019s a higher proportion in men because they\u2019re more exposed to the infection or because they have an intrinsic weakness, or if there\u2019s a diagnostic delay in women<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. What we do know is that children have a much higher risk of developing TB. In children between the ages of 2 and 5, the probability of developing TB after infection is 40% whereas the risk falls after the age of 14. This seems to be due to factors related to children&#8217;s lung development&#8221; &#8211; Pere-Joan Cardona<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>How does this combination of poverty and lack of resources interact with the disease?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;People <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">living <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in poverty <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are much more likely to be infected. They live in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">overcrowded <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">conditions<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">many people in the same room, so if there\u2019s one person with the disease it\u2019s much easier for them to pass it on. Once infected, a person living in poverty is much more exposed to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">risk factors that favour the progression of TB. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the case of Sub-Saharan Africa, malnutrition is the most important factor<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Infected people living in low socio-economic contexts are therefore much more likely to develop the disease<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">also <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have more difficulty <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">accessing early diagnosis and adhering to treatment, which increases the risk of mortality. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This whole cluster of factors means that, in countries with fewer resources, we have more infected people; more cases of TB and more mortality<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d &#8211; Alberto Garc\u00eda-Basteiro<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;In Brazil, a recent ISGlobal study found a 40% reduction in the incidence of TB in families receiving a small cash allowance called \u201cbolsa familia\u201d, highlighting the effectiveness of social interventions\u201d &#8211; Alberto Garc\u00eda-Basteiro.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Something very similar was published about giving food supplements to prevent malnutrition. This reduced cases by 50%. Just by giving a food supplement or monetary aid, we save a large number of lives&#8221; &#8211; I\u00f1aki Comas<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What\u2019s the situation in countries like Spain, where there are about 4,000 new cases a year?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;In developed countries, TB tends to affect large cities in particular, where there are ghettos and areas where people live under difficult socio-economic conditions. In addition, there are cases associated with people on immunosuppressive treatments. Finally, there may be specific outbreaks, such as the one recently detected in Barcelona. Currently, genomic epidemiology tools are helping us to identify the chains of transmission in great detail, so we can take action to reduce the incidence of the disease\u201d &#8211; Pere-Joan Cardona<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Treatments and vaccines for tuberculosis<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>What therapeutic tools are currently available and do they have any side effects?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Treatment for TB is effective in more than 95% of the cases <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(consisting of four antibiotic drugs for at least six months)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but the treatment\u2019s duration can make it difficult to stick to, especially in poor socio-economic contexts or with limited access to education. When the current treatment emerged in the 1980s, it was a major advance over previous therapies which had lasted up to three years. It was thought that the disease would be eradicated by 2000 but this hasn\u2019t been the case\u201d &#8211; Pere-Joan Cardona<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;There are very few side effects. The biggest problem is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">antibiotic <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">drug resistance in some strains of the bacterium, caused by the treatment being misused. This is especially complicated when the bacteria are resistant to rifampicin, one of the most effective drugs. Fortunately, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">other <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">solutions are starting to become available, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">other new <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">treatments, but the problem of resistance will always be there, as the bacterium has an extraordinary ability to mutate\u201d &#8211; Pere-Joan Cardona<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Bedaquiline, one of <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">these <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">new drugs developed after more than 30 years of research, is already encountering resistant strains after only two years of use. It\u2019s a clear example of a race we\u2019re still losing\u201d &#8211; I\u00f1aki Comas<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Tuberculosis <\/b><b>is <\/b><b>one of the oldest diseases and has been studied extensively, so why hasn&#8217;t it been eradicated?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;As we\u2019ve already said, multi-resistance to treatment is an important issue. This should be of great concern <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">because it prevents us from using the cheapest antibiotic drugs and therefore reduces our therapeutic arsenal, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but we have to put it into context.\u00a0 Only 4% of TB cases in the world are resistant to rifampicin <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and one piece of good news is that the proportion of cases that are resistant to rifampicin hasn\u2019t increased over the past few years<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, although it\u2019s a considerable problem <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(in some regions, such as Eastern Europe and Central Africa, 30-40% <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of the cases are resistant to rifampicin),<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more complex factors lie behind the current lack of progress in containing the disease<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8221; &#8211; Alberto Garcia-Basteiro<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Another <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">important <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">factor is that one in four TB cases is not properly diagnosed or reported. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each undiagnosed case means that the spread of the disease expands; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0the infection continues being passed on, unchecked. Asymptomatic TB <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">should also be <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">considered. These are people who show lesions in their lung tissue that may have been caused by a tuberculous disease. They feel well and so don\u2019t go to the doctor but they can still pass on the disease. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are studies based on modelling (not empirical data) that suggest asymptomatic TB may be responsible for a significant proportion of global transmission<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In many parts of the world there are already problems in identifying and treating symptomatic cases, and the situation is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">even <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more complex with asymptomatic cases&#8221; &#8211; Alberto Garcia-Basteiro<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;On a positive note, we\u2019ve improved a lot in diagnostic capacity and treatment. Although the incidence is still high, the number of deaths has come down a lot since the 1990s. If you stay on the treatment for 6 months, the chances of being cured is very high <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(and resistance doesn\u2019t develop).<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Since diagnosis and treatment programmes were implemented worldwide in the 1990s, an estimated 10 million lives have been saved&#8221; &#8211; I\u00f1aki Comas<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What\u2019s the situation with vaccines and what can we expect in the future?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Most of the vaccines administered produce antibodies in the body that kill the pathogens. The problem with TB is that the bacterium infects an area of the lung <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">where there are virtually no antibodies and where <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the action of antibodies is very limited, so it\u2019s difficult to develop an effective vaccine. There\u2019s a vaccine, BCG, which was developed 20 years ago and is still in use. It\u2019s administered in a lot of countries with a high incidence of tuberculosis disease to prevent it from developing on a massive scale\u201d &#8211; Pere-Joan Cardona<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;We\u2019ve been working on therapeutic vaccines, such as the Ruti vaccine<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which will be given to people who are already infected <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in an attempt to reduce treatment time and give more effective prophylaxis to people who are<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> only <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">infected so that they don&#8217;t actually develop the disease. There\u2019s a vaccine, DGSK, which is also being developed by the Bill Gates Foundation, which provides 40% protection, similar to or slightly less than offering a nutritional supplement to the contacts of a case\u201d &#8211; Pere-Joan Cardona<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWith the development of new vaccines we\u2019re at an encouraging moment but factors such as improved nutrition are still very important in reducing the incidence of the disease\u201d &#8211; Pere-Joan Cardona<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;We\u2019ve made a lot of progress with TB vaccines and I think we\u2019re on the right track, but the social aspect of the disease and the cracks in the system at an economic and health level are still there&#8221; &#8211; I\u00f1aki Comas<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What remains to be done?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;We must realise that our approach to TB cannot be exclusively medical; it has to be multi-sectoral. We need countries to improve their socio-economic status. Eliminating inequality gaps in housing, in food and many other sectors could go a long way to helping to control the disease&#8221; &#8211; Alberto Garcia-Basteiro<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/USQvI31BSGU?si=rRMAt7tT97WnXFKu\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Tuberculosis is one of humanity&#8217;s oldest infectious diseases and the one that has caused the most deaths throughout history. In the last 200 years alone, it has claimed the lives of more than a billion people and is still the most lethal infectious disease today.<\/p>\n<p>To address this major global health challenge, more and more progress is being made in prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The only vaccine available for the disease was developed in 1921 but there are currently 14 new vaccine candidates under clinical development, getting closer to being tested on humans.<\/p>\n<p>There are social, economic and scientific challenges to eradicating tuberculosis but also promising advances that offer hope for the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sin-categorizar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Tuberculosis: Why have we still not managed to eradicate the infectious disease that causes the most deaths? - Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/tuberculosi-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tuberculosis: Why have we still not managed to eradicate the infectious disease that causes the most deaths? - Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tuberculosis is one of humanity&#8217;s oldest infectious diseases and the one that has caused the most deaths throughout history. In the last 200 years alone, it has claimed the lives of more than a billion people and is still the most lethal infectious disease today. To address this major global health challenge, more and more progress is being made in prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The only vaccine available for the disease was developed in 1921 but there are currently 14 new vaccine candidates under clinical development, getting closer to being tested on humans. There are social, economic and scientific challenges to eradicating tuberculosis but also promising advances that offer hope for the future.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/tuberculosi-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-31T12:21:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-31T12:22:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ubikmedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ubikmedia\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/tuberculosi-debate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/tuberculosi-debate\/\",\"name\":\"Tuberculosis: Why have we still not managed to eradicate the infectious disease that causes the most deaths? - Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-31T12:21:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-31T12:22:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/#\/schema\/person\/2b9d5310c27055b4862191402c387fca\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/tuberculosi-debate\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/\",\"name\":\"Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/#\/schema\/person\/2b9d5310c27055b4862191402c387fca\",\"name\":\"Ubikmedia\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ccc66bc497f8ba496f9d06e5a58a91de?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ccc66bc497f8ba496f9d06e5a58a91de?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ubikmedia\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/author\/ubikmedia\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tuberculosis: Why have we still not managed to eradicate the infectious disease that causes the most deaths? - Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/tuberculosi-debate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tuberculosis: Why have we still not managed to eradicate the infectious disease that causes the most deaths? - Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia","og_description":"Tuberculosis is one of humanity&#8217;s oldest infectious diseases and the one that has caused the most deaths throughout history. In the last 200 years alone, it has claimed the lives of more than a billion people and is still the most lethal infectious disease today. To address this major global health challenge, more and more progress is being made in prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The only vaccine available for the disease was developed in 1921 but there are currently 14 new vaccine candidates under clinical development, getting closer to being tested on humans. 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