Spotlight on tuberculosis
The tuberculosis bacteria has over the past decade sailed up as the pathogen which kills most people in the world. In many countries there is a stigma surrounding tuberculosis (TB), making people suffering from the disease to loose their jobs and income. Serious problems are also the increased resistance to antibiotics and a throwback in vaccine research.
The world’s number one infectious disease
The UN and WHO want to end tuberculosis infection worldwide by 2030. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet participate with knowledge, engagement and hard work.
Detector limits spread of TB
KI researcher Antonio Rothfuchs has created a device for capturing airborne tuberculosis bacteria.
A long way back after TB diagnosis
Jennie Hasselquist was diagnosed with multiresistant tuberculosis in 2014. During treatment, she was isolated at the hospital for four months.
Thought the TB was cancer
Airi Inkeri received the TB infection as a child in Finland. The disease broke out 70 years later, after a long career in the healthcare sector.
Joint research effort to fight TB
In spring 2018, a new center for tuberculosis research opened at Karolinska Institutet. Knut Lönnroth, Professor of Social Medicine, talks about the initiative and why it is needed.
Detailed map of lung immune response in TB
This image shows a tuberculosis (TB) infection in a mouse lung, in which immune cells form a granuloma around the bacteria. The different symbols represent working copies of active genes, called messenger RNA, which are different in the granuloma centre in comparison to the surrounding cells.
Antibiotic resistance – the silent pandemic
Antibiotic resistance is sometimes referred to as the silent pandemic – a contagion that spreads without us really knowing its extent or severity. But research is in progress to find new ways of fighting bacteria. And as with COVID-19, everyone can help to reduce the spread – and save lives.