HIV control approaches may not work for TB: lessons from South Africa and Zambia

Chest x-rays are more sensitive for screening for TB. PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most deadly infectious diseases. Around 9.9 million people around the world fell ill with the disease in 2020 and an estimated 1.5 million people died.

The advent of HIV in the 1980s unleashed large increases in TB, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries, the number of people diagnosed with TB quadrupled every year. People with HIV are particularly susceptible to falling ill with TB.