Tuberculosis continues to be a global public health threat. Despite being a curable disease, it has caused the deaths of over 30 million people worldwide in the past 20 years. This infectious disease, caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, is currently the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, surpassed only by COVID-19 during the pandemic.
In Uruguay, the tuberculosis rate is 36 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a figure higher than the average for the Americas. The lack of timely diagnosis, treatment abandonment, and socio-economic factors such as malnutrition complicate its eradication. To improve this situation, it is essential to deepen our understanding of the disease and the bacteria responsible for it.
What does Uruguayan science contribute to the study of tuberculosis?
At the national level, various research groups are working on different aspects of human tuberculosis, as well as bovine tuberculosis (which affects cows). Research is being conducted in over a dozen institutions, including:
- Studies to improve diagnostic methods
- Research on the bacterial strains circulating in the country and their transmission
- Development of strategies to identify new compounds with therapeutic potential
- Studies on essential bacterial processes that could be targeted by new therapeutic strategies
- Research to understand how the bacteria interacts with human cells and the mechanisms that allow it to survive within them
Institutions such as the Faculties of Medicine, Chemistry, Science, and Veterinary Medicine at Udelar, the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, the Clemente Estable Institute, the Spanish Hospital, UTEC, INIA, and DILAVE, among others, lead these efforts in the country. The Honorary Commission for the Fight Against Tuberculosis has been, for decades, the public institution responsible for implementing the National Tuberculosis Control Program.
Uruguay, regional host
In this context, Uruguay will host the XII Meeting of the Latin American Society of Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterioses (slamtb.com) for the first time this year. The event is organized by the Faculty of Science and the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo. The conference will bring together international experts in the diagnosis, treatment, and research of tuberculosis, providing an excellent opportunity to showcase and learn about the work of the Uruguayan scientific community and its contribution to the fight against tuberculosis.
