Īnd although tuberculosis can be cured with a combination of antibiotics, until recently, the standard course of drugs took six to nine months to complete, and treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis took up to two years with much lower chances of cure.
Of the 10.6 million people estimated to have developed active tuberculosis in 2021, only around three out of five cases were appropriately diagnosed and notified. The BCG vaccine provides protection against the most severe forms of tuberculosis in children but offers variable and limited protection for adolescents and adults.ĭiagnosis and treatment rates are also low.
It was invented over 100 years ago, and while it has saved millions of lives since, it has limitations. There is only one licensed vaccine for tuberculosis: the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine.
