A top national health agency has awarded a significant grant to researchers at Colorado State University to study the causes of tuberculosis.
The National Institutes of Health awarded nearly $20 million over seven years to a team from CSU. The team will look at what makes people susceptible to the bacterium that causes TB.
Researcher Randall Basaraba says the disease is highly adaptable and in some people it’s highly drug resistant.
“Basically there’s a huge need for new treatment strategies, drug treatment and prevention strategies,” Basaraba said.
Researchers hope treatments that work with animals can be used for humans as well.
The disease is relatively uncommon in the U.S., but in 2013 roughly 9 million people worldwide became ill with TB. One and a half million people died from it.
