Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is in the news lately and for good reason. Diseases that were once easy to treat are becoming increasingly difficult to cure. But the largest contributor to AMR is a disease that rarely makes headlines – drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), the world’s only airborne drug-resistant infection. DR-TB makes up a third of the world’s burden of AMR and in 2017, there were more than half a million cases of DR-TB globally [1] – including some right here in New York City. It is estimated that two-thirds of individuals with DR-TB do not even know they are infected [2], posing a threat to their own health and to global health security.

UnMasked tells the story of three young South African doctors who contract multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB). These women endured harrowing side effects caused by the MDR TB treatment for a disease that is as old as the plague. This documentary follows these brave, resilient women as they claw their way up from the depths of despair to create new lives for themselves.

Join JLABS @ Washington, DC, for an eye-opening evening including a screening of the documentary with the film’s producer, Janet Tobias, and an engaging panel with thought leaders in the TB space. 

Sources: [1] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis [2] https://pages.eiu.com/jj-healthcare—2019-healthcare_landing-page-report.html