Health

New Antibiotic Stokes Hope for Still Lethal TB in Study

Thuto Pulane, a participant of the NC-009 pan-Phase 2 clinical trial at a check-up with Dr. William Brumskine after completing treatment.Photographer: Jonathan Torgovnik/TB Alliance

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By Janice Kew

November 19, 2025 at 10:30 AM UTC

Thuto Pulane had just wrapped up a promising internship in marketing when she lost 13 kilos over two months and started coughing up green phlegm.

She grew weaker and decided to visit a nearby clinic to get help after returning home from a family trip. Turns out Pulane had the world’s deadliest curable infectious disease, one she remembered learning about at school: tuberculosis.