Tuberculosis (TB) remains the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. A new study recently published in The Lancet Global Health and supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that expanding TB screening and preventive treatment could dramatically reduce TB incidence and deliver substantial economic returns.
Conducted in Brazil, Georgia, Kenya and South Africa, the modelling study outlines the investments required and the projected benefits of implementing screening and preventive measures among key populations: people living with HIV, household contacts of TB patients and other country-specific high-risk groups. The findings highlight both the public health impact and the strong economic case for scaling up existing strategies that too often fail to reach those most at risk.
According to WHO, an estimated 10.8 million people developed TB and 1.25 million died from it in 2023, including 161,000 people living with HIV. Yet nearly 2.6 million people with TB (24%) remain undiagnosed each year, missing out on life-saving treatment.
“Our study shows that we can prevent millions of people from developing and dying from tuberculosis by implementing interventions that already exist — generating large societal returns on investment,” says Jonathon Campbell, PhD, senior author of the study and junior scientist in the Translational Research in Respiratory Diseases Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (The Institute).