In 2015, tuberculosis overtook HIV as the leading cause of death from infectious disease in the world. In South Africa, for example, 780 people are infected with TB for every 100,000 people. In the U.S., the number is 2.9, though last year, the number of tuberculosis cases in New York City jumped by 10 percent—the largest increase since 1992.
According to Neil Schluger, a senior advisor for science and education at Vital Strategies, there’s a somewhat surprising reason why the bacterial disease remains such a formidable killer around the world: tobacco use.
