How serious a problem is tuberculosis in the world?
According to the World Health Organization(WHO), nearly 2 billion people—one–third of the world’s population—have tuberculosis. Annually,8 million people become ill with tuberculosis, and 2 million people die from the disease worldwide. In 2004,around 14.6 million people had active TB disease with 9 million new cases. The annual incidence rate varies from 356 per 100,000 in Africa to 41 per 100,000 in the Americas.Tuberculosis is the world’s greatest infectious killer of women of reproductive age and the leading cause of death among people with HIV/AIDS.

How aboat the problem in the U.S.A.?
In the United States, rates of tuberculosis increased from 1985 to 1993 because of the expanding HIV epidemic, increased immigration, and decaying public health services. In the United States there were 26,673 new tuberculosis cases in 1992 (the highest incidence since 1981), 25,313 in 1993, and 24,361 in 1994.

Symptoms of TB in the lungs may include
  •A bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
  •Weight loss
  •Coughing up blood or mucus
  •Weakness or fatigue
  •Fever and chills
  •Night sweats

TB test in the laboratory

Treatment

TB Insert