Ripped from the headlines: how can we harness communications to control TB?

Even 125 yrs after Robert Koch discovered the tuberculosis (TB) bacillus and 63 yrs since the discovery of streptomycin, the first anti-TB drug, TB, the ‘‘white plague’’, still causes ,9 million incidents of illness and claims .1.6 million lives annually. Yet, little attention has been paid to TB by decision-makers, the media or the general public, contributing to a lack of political will and public action to solve this global health emergency. With the recent rekindling of media and popular interest in the emerging threat of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), the health community has a critical opportunity to leverage more coordinated and purposeful communications as an important weapon in the fight against TB. Data gathered through the study described below are a starting point for developing a communications strategy and key messages to strengthen Europe’s response to the TB epidemic.