In 2008, two 9,000-year old skeletons were found with their bones infected by an all too familiar bacterium. The ancient Greeks knew its effects as phthisis; the Incans called it chaky oncay; and today we call it tuberculosis, or TB. TB is still one of the world's most infectious killers, causing more deaths than malaria or even HIV. How has it persisted for so long? Melvin Sanicas investigates. [Directed by Augenblick Studios, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by GDM Production Music].

Melvin Sanicas: What makes TB the world's most infectious killer?

What makes TB the world's most infectious killer?

TB's ghostly symptoms once romanticized as the 'White Plague,' now reveal a deadly pathogen with a 9,000-year grip on humanity.

Innovations like the BCG vaccine and new antibiotics have fought TB, yet 90% of infections are latent, eluding easy diagnosis.

Emerging urine tests and treatments promise to cut TB's treatment time by 75%, aiming to relegate this ancient killer to history.