The estimated fatality rate among hospitalized patients with TB-COVID co-infection was 11%.
The investigation revealed that 170 people—many of them in high-risk groups—may have been exposed to TB, a number expected to grow.
Four participants in the study developed early TB disease, all of whom were severely malnourished.
Researchers estimate that 85 pathogens accounted for 704 million disability-adjusted life years globally in 2019.
The treatment of acute TB has been the main clinical focus for the past several decades.
Researchers estimate more than 18,000 excess TB cases in the United States are attributable to racial/ethnic disparities.
The 9,615 TB cases reported in 2023 represent a 16% increase from 2022.
The excess deaths are attributed to pandemic-related disruptions to TB services, which resulted in more people with undiagnosed and untreated TB.
The trial will evaluate whether the adjuvanted subunit vaccine M72/AS01E protects adolescents and adults from progressing from latent TB to active pulmonary TB.
Increased investment in TB control and prevention has helped reduce incidence in young people, but incidence of drug-resistant TB is rising.