Combatting stigma with personal stories: Portraits of Public Health

March 26, 2026.Reading time 8 minutes.

Illustration of Lana - white woman with long blonde hair, wearing a light blue collared shirt.

In our latest Portrait of Public Health, we meet Lana, a nurse and educator at Public Health’s TB Clinic, who uses her own immigration story to build trust with other new arrivals to discuss the stigmatized topic of tuberculosis (TB).

Early testing, treatment, and diagnosis for TB stops spread, saves lives

March 24, 2025.Reading time 8 minutes.

X-ray image of human lungs with red mass on one side

In 2023 and 2024, tuberculosis (TB) re-claimed its long-held status as the world’s deadliest infectious disease. Globally, 10.8 million people developed TB disease in 2023, including 1.25 million people who died of TB disease. For this year’s World TB Day on March 24, let’s take a closer look at what’s happening in King County and how our community is working to stop this disease.

World TB Day 2023 is a reminder that TB is a global and local problem

March 24, 2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

On World TB Day, March 24, 2023, it is important to remember that TB is not just a problem overseas.

The number of TB cases in King County increased last year. They could have been prevented.

March 24, 2022.Reading time 4 minutes.

As much as a fourth of the world’s population is estimated to be infected by the tuberculosis bacterium. The vast majority are “latent” infections, meaning the bacteria is dormant, or “asleep,” in people’s bodies. But latent TB infection (LBTI) can lead to active tuberculosis: Ten million people developed active TB in 2020, and 1.5 million people died of the disease globally.

Global epidemic, local response: TB update in King County

March 22, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Even though there are medications that can cure and prevent TB disease, too few around the world are currently able to get the treatment they need to make them well and prevent others from getting a disease that kills 4,500 people every day worldwide, and 1.6 million total in 2017 alone.

World TB Day: Global epidemic hits home

March 24, 2017.Reading time 6 minutes.

Every week, two new people on average are diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in King County. Many of these cases are investigated, treated and managed through our local TB program without public attention, but we’ve seen recent instances in schools (here and here) and a university, health care facilities (here and here), a group residence and jail […]