ProfessorBrian Robertson

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the most successful pathogens affecting humankind: around 9 million people develop tuberculosis every year, resulting in 1.4 million deaths. Most people mount an immune response that is sufficient to control initial infection but they remain susceptible to reinfection or reactivation disease in later life. Immunological evidence suggests that up to two billion people worldwide may harbour latent tuberculosis, with a ten percent lifetime risk of developing active disease. The development of improved drugs, diagnostics and vaccines is central to the WHO End-TB strategy, which aims by 2035 for a:

95% reduction in TB deaths compared with 2015.

90% reduction in TB incidence rate compared with 2015.

Zero TB-affected families facing catastrophic costs due to TB