Modelling tuberculosis control priorities: more of the same will not do

C Wejse, R Ragonnet, ES McBryde, JM Trauer

The Lancet Global Health 7 (10), e1319; Modelling tuberculosis control priorities: more of the same will not do

In The Lancet Global Health, Juan F Vesga and colleagues1 reported on their assessment of tuberculosis control priorities in high-burden settings using a robust and well accepted modelling approach with a focus on what can be achieved by strengthening the tuberculosis cascade of care. The authors concluded that closing gaps and decreasing delays in the cascade of care will be valuable for improving patient outcomes and identifying programmatic priorities, and although their results were robust, their assumptions on the extent of reductions in gaps in the cascade of care were unrealistic. Their findings show that strengthening the tuberculosis cascade of care will be insufficient to achieve the End TB Strategy targets within this generation or the next, regardless of whether the challenges are a dysfunctional private sector, HIV coinfection, or multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis.