A major international study led by聽, and published in The Lancet Global Health, shows that scaling up tuberculosis (TB) screening and preventive treatment could dramatically reduce TB incidence and yield major economic returns. Conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and national TB programs in Brazil, Georgia, Kenya, and South Africa, the study used detailed modeling to evaluate the health and financial impact of expanding screening and preventive care among key high-risk groups, including people living with HIV, household contacts of TB patients, and other country-specific populations.
The findings are striking: between 2024 and 2050, expanded TB screening and preventive treatment could prevent up to 26% of TB cases in the highest-burden countries studied. Preventive treatment alone accounted for roughly one-third of this impact. Economically, every dollar invested would generate large societal returns, ranging from $8 in Georgia to $54 in South Africa, by averting the costs of illness, disability, and premature death. The interventions proved cost-effective across all settings, even when accounting for implementation expenses, with the strongest returns in regions with higher TB prevalence.
Dr. Jonathon Campbell, an epidemiologist and health economist with the 海角社区 International TB Centre and Centre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE), notes that the tools to eliminate TB already exist. 鈥淥ur study shows that we can prevent millions of people from developing and dying from tuberculosis by implementing interventions that already exist鈥攇enerating large societal returns on investment,鈥� he says. The results strengthen the economic and public health case for countries and global donors to urgently expand TB prevention strategies, advancing the goal of ending TB worldwide.
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聽Vesga JF, Mohamed MS, Shandal M, Jabbour E, Lomtadze N, Kubjane M, Trajman A, Meyer-Rath G, Avaliani Z, Rotich W, Mwai D, Croda J, Mathema HT, Kathure I, Pola R, Costa FD, Ndjeka NO, Danelia M, Tonini ML, Solomonia N, Pelissari DM, Falzon D, Miller C, Baena IG, Arinaminpathy N,聽Schwartzman K, Den Boon S,聽Campbell JR.聽Lancet Glob Health. 2025 Nov;13(11):e1857-e1868. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(25)00321-3.
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. An international study led by Jonathon Campbell at The Institute highlights the powerful health and economic impact of expanding preventive tuberculosis measures.聽The Institute News. October 23, 2025
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