Tuberculosis could end if there’s more US public health funding, experts say

As tuberculosis outbreaks pick up speed in the US and abroad amid deep cuts in funding for local, state and international public health programs, a resurgence of the deadliest infectious disease – including drug-resistant tuberculosis – could be on the horizon.Increasing funding for public health responses could end tuberculosis (TB) altogether, says James Brookes, an IT specialist from Idaho, who told this to his representatives in Congress on Wednesday.Unlike many advocates, Brookes has no personal connection to tuberculosis. No one he knows has gotten it, and it was not top of mind until fairly recently.But he has followed John Green, the prominent vlogger and author, and his brother, Hank, on social media for nearly two decades now. When Green created a group called TBFighters, Brookes joined; after Green, along with the non-profit Partners In Health, asked for volunteers to travel to Washington DC, to participate in a TB Hill Day, Brookes booked flights and a hotel.USAid cuts coul...