Why is TB still killing people?

Tuberculosis kills more than a million people every year. It’s the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. This is despite the fact that we've had a cure for TB since the 1940s and a vaccine that’s over 100 years old. So why is TB still causing so many people to die?

That’s what CrowdScience listener John in Tanzania wants to know, and presenter Caroline Steel is on the case. After uncovering the history of TB, she looks into the efficacy of the vaccine, known as BCG. It’s both effective and ineffective, protecting children well against severe TB, but offering inconsistent and often poor protection in adults.

Then we discovered antibiotics. Surely this should have meant an end to TB - but it’s still with us. So what’s going wrong?

Caroline looks into the science of TB – what it is, and how we can fight it. In an unequal world, is the solution purely scientific?