We have the cure. Why is tuberculosis still around? : Short Wave

Tuberculosis, recognized as the world's deadliest infectious disease, can cause lymph nodes in an infected person's chest to swell and may lie dormant in one's system for years before symptoms become apparent. Annually, more than 10 million people are diagnosed with an active tuberculosis infection worldwide. Despite modern medicine providing all the necessary tools for a cure, over a million people still die from the disease each year.

While tuberculosis is relatively rare in the United States, with provisional data indicating just over 10,000 cases in 2024, the disease is spreading much more actively in other parts of the world, particularly in lower-income countries.

Author John Green identifies this ongoing challenge as a significant problem. In his book, Everything is Tuberculosis, he extensively charts the historical spread of tuberculosis to illuminate the crucial lessons it offers for understanding the disease in the present day.

For those interested in more science and medical history, questions can be emailed to shortwave@npr.org.

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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn, edited by Brent Baughman and showrunner Rebecca Ramirez, fact-checked by Tyler Jones, and engineered for audio by Jimmy Keeley.