Tuberculosis (TB) kills close to 2 million people every year
4500 people will die of TB by the end of today -- most of whom are in their most productive working years (ages 15 to 54)
More than 2 billion people, equal to one-third of the world's population, are infected with TB bacilli, the microbes that cause TB
12 million people worldwide with HIV/AIDS-TB co-infection
One-third of AIDS patients die of TB, making TB the leading cause of death among AIDS patients
Nearly 500,000 of the 9.2 million new cases of TB every year are multidrug-resistant
China and India account for half the world's MDR-TB cases
Highest MDR-TB incidences are in countries of the former Soviet Union
TB and MDR-TB are curable
The goal of the partnership is to treat more 20,000 MDR-TB patients by 2010
A single person infected with MDR-TB may unknowingly infect, on average, up to 15 other people
About one-third of the world's population carries a latent strain of tuberculosis
Two billion people are infected with TB bacilli worldwide -- 1 in 10 will become sick with active TB
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Every
year, nearly 2 million people die from tuberculosis, a curable
disease. Poor adherence to the necessary drug regimen and interrupted
treatment are widespread problems in resource-constrained countries.
These problems not only keep patients from being cured of the
disease but also can lead to multi-drug resistant strains of TB,
which require even longer and more complex treatment. Conservative
estimates indicate that about 500,000 new cases of MDR-TB arise
every year, and that the average person with the disease infects
up to 15 other people during his or her lifetime. Clearly, this
pandemic requires a massive mobilization of people and resources
to address it.
