Tuberculosis, a disease that primarily affects the lungs, is still a leading infectious killer estimated to have caused 1.3 million deaths in 2022. Three EPI members bring unique approaches to fighting TB.
Dr. Josephine Clark-Curtiss, whose career spanned half a century, worked tirelessly to help mitigate the spread of dangerous infectious diseases. After a valiant personal battle against ovarian cancer, she passed away on Nov. 6, 2023.
UF EPI member studies how the genetic makeup of a tuberculosis bacterial population changes during transmission.
Tuberculosis is an age-old respiratory scourge, with a new twist: growing resistance to multiple first- and second-line drugs. UF researchers and physicians report on using a novel treatment to slash treatment time — and cure — a patient with extensively drug-resistant TB.
Whole genome sequencing allows researchers to quantify diversification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis within a host, showing that the individual bacteria comprising an infection are not all identical clones. Using a known TB cluster, Emerging Pathogens Institute researchers confirm that hosts can transmit all — or just some — of the genetic diversity unique to their mTB population to a new victim.
