In 2008, archeologists uncovered two  9,000-year old skeletons. There’s no definitive way of knowing what  killed these ancient people, but we do know their bones were infected  by an all too familiar bacterium. The ancient Greeks knew its consumptive  effects as phthisis; the Incans called it chaky oncay;  and the English called it tuberculosis. Today, tuberculosis, or TB, is still one of the world’s biggest  infectious killers, causing more deaths than malaria or  even HIV and AIDS. But what exactly is this disease, and how  has this pathogen persisted for so long? Typically, TB bacteria called  mycobacterium tuberculosis, are airborne. They travel into our airways and  infect our lungs. Here, immune cells called macrophages  rush to the infection site, attempting to absorb and break down  the bacterial invaders. In many cases, this response is enough  to remove the bacteria. But in individuals with other  medical conditions– ranging from malnutrition and HIV to  diabetes and pregnancy –the immune response may not be  strong enough to destroy the intruder. If so, mycobacterium tuberculosis will  reproduce inside those macrophages, and form colonies in the  surrounding lung tissue. As they infect more cells, the bacteria employ cell-degrading enzymes that destroy the infected tissue, triggering chest pain, and causing  patients to cough up blood. The damage to the lungs leads to  oxygen deprivation. This begins a flood of hormonal changes– including a decrease in appetite and  iron production. From here, microbes can spread to the  skeletal system, causing back pain and difficulty moving; to the kidneys and intestines,  causing abdominal pain; and to the brain, causing headaches  and even impaired consciousness. These symptoms produce the  classic image of TB: weight loss, a hacking, bloody cough,  and ashen skin. This ghostly appearance earned TB  the title of the ‘White Plague’ in Victorian-era England. During this period, tuberculosis was  considered a ‘romantic disease,' because it tended to affect poverty- stricken artists and poets– those with weaker immune systems. TB’s outward symptoms even helped  fuel the popular myth of vampirism. In spite of– or perhaps because of  these less than scientific concerns, this period also marked the first strides  toward curing TB. In 1882, the German physician Robert Koch identified the disease’s  bacterial origins. 13 years later, physicist Wilhelm  Roentgen  discovered the X-ray, enabling physicians to diagnose and track  its progression through the body. These techniques allowed researchers to  develop reliable and effective vaccines– first for smallpox, and again in 1921, when scientists developed the BCG  vaccine to battle TB. These developments laid the groundwork  for the modern field of antibiotics– currently home to our most effective  TB treatments. But, antibiotics fail to address a major  diagnostic complication: about 90% of people infected with TB  don’t show any symptoms. In these latent infections, the TB  bacterium may be dormant, only activating when someone’s immune  system is too weak to mount a defense. This makes TB much harder to diagnose. And even when properly identified, traditional treatments can take  up to 9 months, requiring multiple drugs and a high  potential for side effects. This discourages people from finishing  the full course, and partial treatment enables bacteria to  develop resistance to these drugs. Today, the disease is still prevalent  in 30 countries, most of which face other health crises that exacerbate TB and  trigger latent cases. Worse still, accessing treatment can  be difficult in many of these countries, and the stigma towards TB can discourage  people from getting the help they need. Health experts agree we need to  develop better diagnostics, faster acting antibiotics, and more  effective vaccines. Researchers have already developed a urine test that yields results in 12 hours, as well as a new oral treatment that could cut treatment time by 75%. Hopefully, with advancements like these, we’ll finally be able to make TB  exclusively a thing of the past.