tuberculosis research report

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Tuberculosis articles from across Nature Portfolio

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by strains of bacteria known as mycobacteria. The disease most commonly affects the lungs and can be fatal if not treated. However, most infected individuals show no disease symptoms. One third of the worlds population is thought to have been infected with TB.

Latest Research and Reviews

Inhibitors of acetohydroxyacid synthase as promising agents against non-tuberculous mycobacterial diseases

Tam Doan Nguyen
Chang-Hwa Song

PET-CT outcomes from a randomised controlled trial of rosuvastatin as an adjunct to standard tuberculosis treatment

In this work, authors report on the PET-CT outcomes from the use of adjunctive statin therapy, rosuvastatin, in the intensive phase of tuberculosis (TB) treatment. Rosuvastatin had no impact on PET-CT changes when used as an adjunct to TB treatment. 8-weeks of TB treatment resulted in ~50% reduction in total lesion glycolysis (TLG), a metric that combines the volume of lung affected and metabolic activity.

Gail B. Cross
Intan P. Sari
Nicholas I. Paton

Paired analysis of host and pathogen genomes identifies determinants of human tuberculosis

Here, the authors conduct a paired genome analysis of humans and Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a cohort from Lima, Peru. Their research reveals that genetic variations in both the host and pathogen significantly influence the progression to tuberculosis.

Chuan-Chin Huang
Soumya Raychaudhuri

Distinguish active tuberculosis with an immune-related signature and molecule subtypes: a multi-cohort analysis

Qingqing Shan
Jian-Qing He

A DNA methylation signature identified in the buccal mucosa reflecting active tuberculosis is changing during tuberculosis treatment

Isabelle Öhrnberg
Lovisa Karlsson

Trends and annual percentage changes in tuberculosis mortality estimated by Joinpoint regression and age-period-cohort analyses, Taiwan, 1978–2022

Shu-Yuan Chen

News and Comment

Recasting resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Why some individuals ‘resist’ infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) has been an enigma. Enriched T cell phenotypes have now been linked to ‘resistance’ to Mtb infection and disease across multiple cohorts.

Jason R. Andrews

Restocking the tuberculosis drug arsenal

After many lean years, important progress has been made in updating the anti-tuberculosis drug armamentarium; a new drug that targets bacterial protein synthesis is one of several that could help transform the treatment of this neglected and deadly disease.

Eric L. Nuermberger
Richard E. Chaisson

Digital intervention improves tuberculosis treatment outcomes

An intervention that incorporates electronic pill boxes and remote adherence monitoring improved treatment success in patients with tuberculosis in Tibet — making this a promising strategy for low-resource settings.

Karen O’Leary

A spotlight on the tuberculosis epidemic in South Africa

Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, with over 25% of these occurring in the African region. Multi-drug resistant strains which do not respond to first-line antibiotics continue to emerge, putting at risk numerous public health strategies which aim to reduce incidence and mortality. Here, we speak with Professor Valerie Mizrahi, world-leading researcher and former director of the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine at the University of Cape Town, regarding the tuberculosis burden in South Africa. We discuss the challenges faced by researchers, the lessons that need to be learnt and current innovations to better understand the overall response required to accelerate progress.

Presumed ocular tuberculosis – need for caution before considering anti-tubercular therapy

Rohan Chawla
Urvashi B. Singh
Pradeep Venkatesh

Transforming tuberculosis diagnosis

Diagnosis is the weakest aspect of tuberculosis (TB) care and control. We describe seven critical transitions that can close the massive TB diagnostic gap and enable TB programmes worldwide to recover from the pandemic setbacks.