For the past 18 months James Nachtwey has documented the resurgence of tuberculosis in seven countries around the world. He has captured the lives of both patients and health care workers in the struggle against this ancient disease which still remains very much a part of the present. Not only does TB remain a killer disease in its most recognizable form but it is mutating into even more deadly forms: multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extremely drug resistant (XDR) TB. While still a small subset of the TB cases, these new strains pose a grave global health threat.
In the words of James Nachtwey:
Normal tuberculosis, if treated diligently, is very inexpensive and doesn’t take very long to cure. But if normal TB is not treated, it mutates and becomes 100 times more expensive, requires a two-year cure and a long stay in the hospital, which many of those infected cannot afford.
The thought of XDR getting out of control is truly frightening.
Today the TED Prize and James Nachtwey, along with our visionary partners, launched a world-wide series of events and an internet movement to build awareness of this forgotten plague.
Check out another slide show of his photos on WIRED.com
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