This is an example of poor analysis of the facts. People did die, but where and why did they die?
In 2022 only 565 deaths from TB were reported in the US.
TB is rare in the US.
According to the WHO, 1.23 million people died of TB in 2024. “Globally, TB is the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent and among the top 10 causes of death.” In 2024, about 10.7 contracted TB, but remember, TB is preventable and curable. Antibiotic treatments became available in the 1950s.
According to the WHO:
TB mostly affects adults in their most productive years. However, all age groups are at risk. Over 80% of cases and deaths are in low- and middle-income countries.
TB occurs in every part of the world. In 2024, the largest number of new TB cases occurred in the WHO South-East Asia Region (34%), followed by the Western Pacific Region (27%) and the African Region (25%). Around 87% of new TB cases occurred in the 30 high TB burden countries, with two-thirds of the global total in India (25%), Indonesia (10%), the Philippines (6.8%), China (6.5%), Pakistan (6.3%), Nigeria (4.8%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.9%) and Bangladesh (3.6%). The top five countries accounted for 55% of the global total.
This meme compares TB to COVID-19.
In 2022, there were approximately 186,553 to 244,986 COVID-19 deaths in the US. That is a significant decrease of over 55% from 2021 when deaths exceeded 416,000. COVID-19 was the 4th leading cause of death in 2022.
In 2020, the worldwide toll was at least 3 million according to the WHO.
The problem isn’t the media. In countries like the US, TB is not a problem. It can be treated. When COVID-19 first was recognized in December 2019, there was no treatment.
Before the 1950s, were people afraid of TB? Yes. It was known as “consumption” or “White Plague.” It was a slow, wasting disease,, often romanticized because it left one with pale skin, flushed cheeks and thin. Tragic heroines died of consumption in Giacomo Puccini’s “La Boheme” and Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata.”
- Tuberculosis and the Fatal Beauty of Romanticism (14 May 2025)
- Romanticism, Mycobacterium and the Myth of the Muse (March 2019)
In the US, however, people have access to treatment. In some countries, the treatment is not readily available. The reason the US media doesn’t “tell” people to be afraid, is because in the US, the percentage of people who die is small. The numbers are correct, however, more information provides the proper context. The mortality rate in the US is 0.2 deaths per 100,000 people. The mortality rate in India is 21 deaths per 100,000 people. Nigeria translates to 25 to 58 fatalities per 100,000 people.
Because in the US, one can treat TB, there is no need to close down businesses or “cancel” schools. However, if one does have infectious TB the CDC does note one “should wear a surgical mask to prevent expelling droplet nuclei into the air. ”