TB Cases Increase Despite Cheap Medication: WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday that 5,000 people die from tuberculosis (TB) every day, with about 2 million deaths from the disease annually. WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland noted that worldwide cases of TB rose 6 percent between 1997 and 1999, even though an inexpensive and effective treatment is available to cure the disease. Health officials said the increase in TB cases was in large part due to a 20-percent rise in TB rates in African countries hit hard by AIDS. UNAIDS Director Peter Piot noted, "The link between HIV and TB is inescapable, and TB is the first manifestation of AIDS in more than half of all developing country cases."

Other CDC News for March 23, 2001

Mortality, CD4 Cell Count Decline, and Depressive Symptoms Among HIV-Seropositive Women U.S. Drug Buyers Unlikely to Seek Deep Discounts on AIDS Medicines Congress Looks to Step Up Fight Against AIDS and Other Diseases Overseas Advertisement TB Cases Increase Despite Cheap Medication: WHO	AIDS Panic in China Leads to Draconian Measures Health Tips: Physicians Should Screen for Chlamydia Disney: No Risk to Visitors From Employee With TB Tuberculosis Treatment Interruption -- Ivanovo Oblast, Russia Federation, 1999 and Evaluation of a Directly Observed Therapy Short Course Strategy for TB Disease -- Orel Oblast, Russia, Russian Federation, 1999-2000
World TB Day -- March 24, 2001