Ethics and benefits of systematic screening for active tuberculosis

Systematic screening for active tuberculosis (TB) provides public health benefits and is part of the End TB Strategy. However, two of WHO's generic principles for screening for disease state that the natural history of the disease in question must be well understood and that there must be benefits to earlier treatment. TB fulfills the first of these only in part, the other has been less well documented. This paper considers the ethical implications of uncertain individual benefits from screening and the current research gaps.