Disease overview

Bacterial

Tuberculosis

肺结核

Evidence-backed informationEN 5/7 applicable sections · ZH 5/7 applicable sectionsUpdated Sep 3, 2026

Tuberculosis represents a major global health challenge, ranking among the top causes of mortality from infectious agents worldwide ^[1]^[2]. Caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria that predominantly infect pulmonary tissue, the condition affects approximately one-quarter of the global population through latent colonization ^[3]^[4]. While most carriers remain asymptomatic and non-contagious, a subset progresses to active illness characterized by significant morbidity and geographic clustering in resource-limited regions ^[4]^[2]. Despite established curative pathways, persistent socioeconomic determinants and healthcare access gaps sustain its substantial annual disease burden ^[1]^[2].

Read the full clinical and epidemiological profile6

Definition

Tuberculosis is an infectious pathology driven by Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli that typically localizes to the respiratory tract but possesses the capacity to disseminate to extrapulmonary sites such as the central nervous system, renal structures, and skeletal framework ^[3]^[4]. Clinical manifestation hinges on bacterial proliferation within host tissues, distinguishing latent colonization from symptomatic active disease ^[3]. The pathological continuum spans from asymptomatic microbial persistence to progressive organ involvement requiring targeted antimicrobial intervention ^[4].

Clinical features

Active clinical presentation commonly features prolonged cough, systemic fever, and unintended somatic decline, though symptom intensity frequently remains subtle or entirely absent during initial phases ^[1]^[3]. This indolent progression complicates early recognition, necessitating heightened clinical vigilance even in the absence of overt complaints ^[4]. When manifestations emerge, they correlate with anatomical involvement, with pulmonary signs predominating alongside potential extrapulmonary neurological or renal indicators ^[3]. Definitive identification typically depends on sputum analysis utilizing rapid molecular diagnostics, often supplemented by thoracic imaging to assess structural involvement ^[1].

Epidemiology

Globally, tuberculosis maintains a substantial mortality footprint, consistently ranking as a primary driver of infectious disease-related deaths across diverse populations ^[1]. Disease exposure concentrates markedly in high-incidence environments where environmental and socioeconomic factors amplify transmission likelihood ^[1]. Progression from initial bacterial encounter to active clinical illness demonstrates temporal clustering, with elevated susceptibility concentrated within the initial years following exposure ^[1]. These distribution patterns underscore the necessity for targeted surveillance in densely populated or resource-constrained regions where exposure dynamics intensify ^[1].

Transmission

Pathogen dissemination occurs exclusively through aerosolized respiratory droplets expelled during coughing, sneezing, or expectoration by individuals harboring active pulmonary infection ^[3]^[2]. Inhalation of minute quantities of airborne bacilli suffices to initiate colonization in susceptible hosts sharing enclosed airspace ^[2]. Contagiousness remains strictly confined to those with clinically active respiratory disease, as asymptomatic carriers do not facilitate onward spread ^[3]. Environmental ventilation quality and proximity to infectious individuals critically modulate transmission probability within shared settings ^[1].

Prevention

Population-level control heavily emphasizes comprehensive case management and rifamycin-containing therapeutic regimens to eliminate reservoirs of active infection and interrupt community transmission chains ^[1]. Immunization frameworks in endemic territories deploy the Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine to mitigate severe pediatric outcomes and reduce infant mortality associated with aggressive disease variants ^[3]. Public health implementation integrates structured adherence protocols, including directly observed therapy, to optimize treatment completion rates and minimize resistance development ^[5]. Concurrent efforts prioritize modifying underlying vulnerability factors through nutritional optimization, substance use reduction, and metabolic disease management to curb progression trajectories ^[1].

References

1Trajman A et al. Tuberculosis. Lancet. 2025 Mar 8. PMID: 40057344. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)02479-6.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40057344/
2World Health Organization. Tuberculosis [Internet]. cited 3 Sept 2026.Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/tuberculosis
3World Health Organization. Tuberculosis [Internet]. cited 3 Sept 2026.Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis
4World Health Organization. Tuberculosis [Internet]. cited 3 Sept 2026.Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/tuberculosis
5Nahid P et al. Official American Thoracic Society/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Infectious Diseases Society of America Clinical Practice Guidelines: Treatment of Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis. Clin Infect Dis. 2016 Oct 1. PMID: 27516382. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciw376.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27516382/

Coding Register

ICD-10: A15-A19
ICD-11: 1B10

Key Statistics

Total cases: 22.2M
Total deaths: 38K
Peak month: 2010-03
Coverage: 40 reporting countries · 1924-01-01 → 2026-09-01

Trends by reporting country

Monthly patterns over time

Research Radar

Recent related research

View all research →

Peer reviewedOpen accessTuberculosisAntimicrobial resistance

DOI 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.6c00238 ↗

Targeting Latent Tuberculosis Using Hypoxia-Activated Prodrugs of Bedaquiline Analogues

Christine G. Kim, Michael P. Hay, Robert F. Anderson +5 more

ACS Medicinal Chemistry LettersSep 4, 2026

Open article ↗Tuberculosis surveillance →

Peer reviewedOpen accessTuberculosisVaccination

DOI 10.1016/j.ijid.2026.108949 ↗

Interferon-gamma release assays versus tuberculin skin test for latent tuberculosis infection positivity among healthcare workers and first responders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Hamoud Alahmari, Lisa Hanson, Peter G. Kelley +3 more

International Journal of Infectious DiseasesSep 1, 2026

Open article ↗Tuberculosis surveillance →

Peer reviewedOpen accessTuberculosisSurveillance

DOI 10.3389/phrs.2026.1609466 ↗

Strengthening comprehensive tuberculosis care in Angola: a scoping review of strategies, challenges, and potentialities in a high-burden setting

Valter Chicalo António Caripa, Rubia Laine de Paula Andrade-Gonçalves, Rafaele Oliveira Bonfim +11 more

Public Health ReviewsAug 27, 2026

Open article ↗Tuberculosis surveillance →

Peer reviewedTuberculosisTreatment

DOI 10.4240/wjgs.120625 ↗

Incidence and risk factors of poor wound healing following emergency surgery for intestinal tuberculosis

Qian He, Juan-Min Xue, Jian-Feng Weng +2 more

World Journal of Gastrointestinal SurgeryAug 27, 2026

Tuberculosis surveillance →

Peer reviewedTuberculosisTreatment

DOI 10.1128/spectrum.01821-26 ↗

Implications of edge cases for antimicrobial susceptibility predictions for rifampin, delamanid, and pretomanid with the WHO <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> mutation catalog.

Hermans N, Phelan J, Sorrentino R +22 more

Microbiology spectrumAug 26, 2026

Tuberculosis surveillance →

Showing 5 of 131 related publications.

Literature links are provided for discovery and do not alter or validate the surveillance series above.

Rows20,804

Updated2026-09-01

Coverage—

Partitions22

Source40 series · 9,381 observations

Official sourcesAuthority, cadence, notes118

monthlyofficial_monthly_csv

AGES Radar monthly national source. Internal ingestion retains native categories; public release is disabled pending licence review.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian national notifiable diseases surveillance dashboard.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Australian Capital Territory, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for New South Wales, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Northern Territory, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Queensland, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for South Australia, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Tasmania, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Victoria, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Western Australia, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

annualofficial_ecdc_rest_aggregate

Belgium annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.

annualofficial_ecdc_rest_aggregate

Bulgaria annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.

monthlyftp_dbc

Brazil Ministry of Health DATASUS/SINAN public DBC microdata aggregated to national monthly notification counts.

ANNUALweb

Canada is the national jurisdiction; subdivision feeds are registered separately.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Ontario-level current-year preliminary monthly case counts from Public Health Ontario's IDTO report.

weeklyrest_api

Switzerland FOPH/BAG IDD mandatory reporting API normalized to national case rows. Monthly series may use the dashboard CHFL aggregate where CH-only monthly series are not exposed.

MONTHLYweb

Monthly notifiable infectious disease reports published by China CDC.

MONTHLYweb

Official China public health bulletin and query portal.

MONTHLYweb

Biomedical literature discovery feed used as supplementary context.