Question: Has TB been completely eradicated in humans? If not when do you think it will be?

Cat O'Connor answered on 21 Jun 2011:

Hi Dan,

Nope TB has not been eradicated in humans, but it’s not for lack of trying! I’m pretty sure vaccination is not as common any more but as a kid I was vaccinated against it using BCG. A couple of years ago, I think they stopped vaccinating in this country because they deemed it wasn’t a big issue but since then, cases have been increasing, mostly due to people catching the disease in another country which hasn’t got it controlled.

The issue with TB, like with most diseases, is that it is ‘able’ to be eradicated in developed countries, but in poorer countries, it’s going to be very very difficult. Firstly because we’re not sure how much disease is in these countries and thus we wouldn’t be sure how many we’d need to vaccinate to get rid of the disease (have you ever heard of something called herd immunity?). And secondly, because there isn’t enough money available in aid to cover the cost of such a massive vaccination campaign.

Best case scenario, they manage to make one vaccine that covers a couple of different diseases say TB, Typhoid, Meningitis and Pneumonia causing bugs. Then, there might be more money made available to tackle these illnesses. Do you understand why making one super vaccine would be better than having all individual ones?

Cat