World TB Day – March 24, 2008

A young TB patient comes with his mother to a health clinic in East Delhi. Source: WHO/TBP/Gary Hampton

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, responsible for approximately 1.6 million deaths each year. In 2006 alone, there were more than 14 million active TB cases among the estimated 2 billion people worldwide (or about one-third of the world's population) infected with TB.

TB in the Developing World

Due to a combination of economic decline, the breakdown of health systems, insufficient application of TB control measures, the spread of HIV/AIDS, and the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), TB is on the rise in many developing and transitional countries. These countries account for 95 percent of new cases and 98 percent of all TB deaths. Most of TB's victims in the developing world are young adults in their most productive years – the disease thus has a major impact in poor countries struggling to advance economically.

TB is a leading cause of death among women of reproductive age and is estimated to cause more deaths among this group than any other cause of maternal mortality. Children are particularly vulnerable to TB infection and account for more than 250,000 TB-related deaths each year. TB is also a leading cause of death among people infected by HIV, accounting in 2006 for approximately 200,000 deaths of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide.

	Read more about efforts to reduce the burden of TB worldwide. Stop TB - World TB Day 2008 Stop TB is a global movement to accelerate social and political action to stop the unnecessary spread of tuberculosis around the world.     - Key Messages [PDF, 90KB] The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Global Fund-supported early detection and treatment programs for TB are making an impact in Russia.

Battling Drug-Resistant TB

Two forms of drug-resistant TB are occurring at their highest rates ever. The first, MDR-TB, is resistant to the most effective first-line TB drugs, and the second, extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), is resistant to both first-line and more expensive second-line medications. USAID is at the forefront of global efforts to control these drug-resistant TB strains.

USAID's TB Program

Developing the capacity of countries to implement effective TB treatment programs is at the core of USAID's TB control activities because adherence to first-line drug treatment is the key to preventing drug resistance. The Agency supports programs in 37 countries, focusing on 19 countries with high burdens of TB, TB drug resistance, or TB-HIV co-infection. Between 2000 and 2007, USAID provided nearly $600 million for TB programs worldwide; for fiscal year 2008, TB funding nearly doubled to $153 million from $93 million the year before.

View the World TB Day photo display at USAID in Washington, D.C. [PDF, 351KB]

News and Information on Tuberculosis

• Tuberculosis Country Profiles
  
  
• Press Statement from Kent Hill, USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health, on the Observance of World Tuberculosis Day 2008 - 03/24/08
  
  
• Testimony of Dr. Kent R. Hill, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Global Health, before the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health - 02/27/08
  "Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis: Assessing the U.S. Response to an Emerging Global Threat"
  
  
• Remarks by Christy Hanson, TB Research Advisor, USAID, at a panel discussion held by The Global Health Council, Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics - 01/22/08
  "Stopping Tuberculosis - The Need For Diagnostics"
  
  
• World Health Organization (WHO)
  • Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance in the World [PDF, 2.5MB]
    This report, produced by the WHO, presents the findings from the largest survey to date on the scale of drug resistance in tuberculosis.
    
  • World Health Organization (WHO) World TB Day 2008