It is the leading infectious cause of death worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.8 billion people—close to one quarter of the world’s population—are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), the bacteria that causes TB. Last year, 10 million fell ill from TB and 1.5 million died.
Source: https://www.tballiance.org/why-new-tb-drugs/global-pandemic