Machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) may become a key weapon in fighting South Africa's tuberculosis scourge - which sees as many as 300 000 new infections and more than 50 000 deaths per ...

About 270 000 people were in 2023 diagnosed with TB. Of those, 56 000 lives were lost, which translates to 153 people every day.

In 2003, about 185 000 new TB cases were diagnosed in South Africa. This figure rose by a massive 94 000 cases in a single year, with 279 000 being recorded in 2004.

South Africa’s fight against TB has been complicated by its massive HIV infection rate. The number of TB cases rose from 224 000 in 2002 to 342 000 last year.

Diagnosing extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) will be reduced from several weeks — and in some cases several months — to about a week, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang ...