TB deadliest disease in Africa

COVID-19 surpassed TB as a killer over the past two years. [iStockphoto]

Effective tuberculosis (TB) treatment has been available for the past 60 years. But TB remains the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. It ranks above HIV and AIDS and others.

This is partly because of the impact of HIV co-infection among TB patients in places like Africa and emergency of MDR-XDR TB. Lack of both gender mainstreaming and reduction of stigma manifested by persistently lower reported cases among women that men is of continued concern.