Tuberculosis: The Deadliest Infectious Disease Worldwide
- Jessica Kwan
- 18 hours ago
- 3 min read
What is TB?
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacteria that is spread from person-to-person through the air, when they breathe, sing or cough. A person infected with TB will usually, but not always, exhibit classic symptoms such as chest pain, unexplained weight loss, cough and sputum production, night sweats, unexplained fatigue, fever and/or swelling of the lymph nodes.
TB can affect anyone regardless of race, ethnicity, age or sex. It can happen anywhere in the world. Certain populations are at higher risk of getting TB than others, but anyone can get it.
The numbers
Worldwide, an estimated 10.8 million people got sick from TB in 2023 and it was the cause of death of 1.25 million people the same year. The actual number of people who got sick from TB is probably much higher than this estimate. This is because, of the people who may have TB, there is a sizeable number who do not or cannot access services to test for and thus diagnose the disease.
In the United States, there was close to 10000 cases of TB reported in 2023, an increase of 15.6% from 2022. One reason for the increasing number of TB cases we are seeing now is due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, isolation precautions limited person-to-person contact and therefore limited shared breathing spaces (less chance for TB transmission); medical services and supports were diverted towards COVID-19 efforts and away from diagnosing diseases such as TB.
These numbers should shock you, because TB is treatable and curable. And, at least in the United States and Canada, treatment is completely free.
Sources: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis, https://www.cdc.gov/tb-surveillance-report-2023/summary/national.html
What is "sleeping TB"?
What many people do not know about TB is that there is a dormant form, once called "sleeping TB". Someone infected with "sleeping TB" has the bacteria in their body, but the bacteria are inactive. The person does not feel sick and they cannot spread the infection to others. Without testing, an infected person will not even know they have it.
This is a lesser known form of TB because it is not infectious and poses no risk to the general public. Even if someone tests positive for "sleeping TB", treatment is usually not mandatory and, in some countries, treatment is not even offered or recommended.
You may wonder why it would be important for someone to be treated for an infection that does not make them sick and does not infect others. If left untreated, there is a lifetime risk that the inactive "sleeping TB" can "wake up" to become the active form of TB; or in other words, the infectious form.
What can we do
TB outbreaks, especially in countries with normally low numbers of TB like the United States, usually signal a weakening of its public health infrastructure. We rely heavily on our public health care system to screen, test, diagnose and treat people with TB and contain the spread of infection and outbreaks. When this system fails, we see outbreaks such as the recent outbreak in Kansas which has been referred to as one of the largest outbreaks in US history.
Although TB has long been known as a disease of the poor and less fortunate, it is an important reminder that no one is immune and we all have a collective responsibility to not only protect ourselves but also protect one another.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/06/kansas-tuberculosis-public-health; https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/tuberculosis-in-kansas-the-larger-picture
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