tuberculosis: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 8, 2026

News •

Genetic interaction map could lead to better antibiotic pairings for tuberculosis • Nov. 4, 2026, 6:40 PM ET (Phys.org)

CCMB scientists develop genetic toolkit to shine light on TB’s inner workings • Oct. 16, 2026, 7:32 AM ET (The Hindu)

Facts

Also Known As	white plague • phthisis • TB • consumption

Photos and Videos

tuberculosis vaccination

Infographic showing estimated lives saved by childhood vaccinations worldwide from 1974 to 2024, with syringe-shaped bars for each disease. Measles tops the list at 93.71 million lives saved, followed by tetanus, whooping cough, and others, for a total of 153.84 million lives saved.

Why is it so hard to fight tuberculosis?

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Topics

bovine tuberculosis multidrug-resistant tuberculosis miliary tuberculosis totally drug-resistant tuberculosis extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis Today in History—March 24: The Lecture That Unraveled the Mystery of Tuberculosis scrofula Pott disease king’s evil human respiratory system nutritional disease AIDS cholera malaria diabetes mellitus leprosy Ebola plague Alzheimer disease influenza

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Key People

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Paul Farmer

American anthropologist and epidemiologist

Breckinridge, Madeline McDowell

Madeline McDowell Breckinridge

American social reformer

Robert Koch

Robert Koch

German bacteriologist

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Eugene Lindsay Opie

American pathologist

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René Dubos

American microbiologist

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Jean Antoine Villemin

French physician

Cohnheim

Julius Friedrich Cohnheim

German pathologist

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Albert Calmette

French bacteriologist

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Lydia Maria Adams DeWitt

American pathologist

full human skeleton

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