Tuberculosis

Abstract

One-half of the population of the world is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and tuberculosis is the most common cause of death among reported infections. Most parts of Latin America, Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Southern Asia have high case rates of tuberculosis. For example, recent rates of infection in many Latin American countries are two to eight times higher than those in the United States, and these figures are minimal estimates because of underreporting in many countries.