More than 10 million people fall ill with active tuberculosis (TB) each year and more than 1.5 million die due to the disease every year despite it being a preventable, treatable, and curable disease. It is among the oldest diseases observed in prehistoric human remains from as far back as 4,000 BCE and animal remains from 17,000 BCE. It was among the leading causes of death even a century ago. Despite the creation of the BCG vaccine 100 years ago, it is the leading infectious cause of death today, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the leading cause of death in those with HIV disease and a major cause of deaths due to antimicrobial resistance. Undiagnosed and untreated cases further the spread of the disease, and the disruption caused by the pandemic is feared to increase the number of new TB infections in the next few years.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.ngsci.org/updates/ml-challenge-tb-detection?fbclid=iwar1hi6pejujis00ia4pgxokuxr4l_qo3bbkaoa7ehfe3lz3ohif6fi1dguc_aem_aa6re24mbdjzkenzxp1ybvmx1wlwwcmtrub5qnvtkfreju1uyi4txmhbcvxv4dt59pe