Tuberculosis - the silent killer

The Good News

Nearly 22 million lives have been saved since 1995
45% decrease in TB deaths since 1990

A person with TB infects about 10 people in a year. Without treatment, half of the people die. With the increasing risk of drug resistance, the cost risks for health systems and economies are too high.

Click on the image above to download the World TB Day brochure.

Today is World TB Day. In 2012, an estimated 8.6 million people developed TB and 1.3 million died from the disease, according to the most recent figures from the World Health Organization. The WHO estimates that about 530,000 children develop TB every year.

The Stop TB Partnership believes that of the 9 million who fall ill with TB every year, 3 million are missed (many from the poorest, most vulnerable communities globally). They are calling for a global effort to find, treat and cure the three million and accelerate progress towards zero TB deaths, infections, suffering and stigma.

They believe that they need to:

1. "aggressively scale up TB programmes and ensure access and coverage for all, especially for the most vulnerable groups and in areas most heavily affected by the diseases - the TB 'hotspots'."
2. invest in basic research and research and development for new tools - diagnostics, drugs and vaccines - in order to reach people faster, treat them more quickly and ultimately prevent them from becoming ill with TB.

On March 25, 2014, Frontline will broadcast "TB Silent Killer" on line or on air - stories from two different families affected by the disease.