Most resistance-causing mutations in TB have now been identified
That will permit personalised treatment of the disease
UNTIL SARS-CoV-2 emerged, the most destructive pathogen on the planet was Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bug that causes TB. In 2020, according to the latest report from the World Health Organisation, published on October 14th, this organism cut short 1.5m lives—a figure 100,000 higher than the previous year (and the first annual rise since 2005), mainly because of disruptions to health services caused by covid-19. People whose immune systems have been wrecked by HIV are particularly at risk. Some 200,000 of the 680,000 annual AIDS deaths are a result of secondary TB infections.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Making resistance useless”
Science & technology October 23rd 2021
From the October 23rd 2021 edition
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