TB, or no TB, still the question

Sino-US cooperative projects set a good example for the fight against more dangerous modern forms of the disease

Thursday is World Tuberculosis Day, which commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced his discovery of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB). The World Health Organization, the United States, China and countries around the world commemorate this day by recognizing the lives and stories of people affected by TB: women, men, and children who have received TB treatment; medical and public health professionals, researchers and community workers. They are all essential team members in the global fight against TB.

On this day, we join them in celebrating the lives saved because of innovative interventions to support early detection of infection and initiation and completion of TB treatment. We also remind ourselves that the fight against this ancient plague, and its more dangerous modern forms such as multi-drug resistant TB and extensively drug resistant TB, is far from over and will require discovering new ways for diagnosing, treating and managing the disease.