 |
- Every second, someone in the world is newly infected
with TB.
- Nearly one percent of the world's population is
newly infected with TB each year.
- Overall, one-third of the world's population, about
2 billion people, are infected with tuberculosis.
- 200 million people worldwide, or 10% of those infected,
will develop active TB and be able to infect others
for 3 decades.
- 6 - 8 million news cases of TB are diagnosed each
year.
- In the last 100 years, 200 million people have died
of TB.
- TB kills 8,000 people a day - that is 2-3 million
people each year. It kills more people than either
AIDS or malaria. In fact, TB is the biggest killer
of young people and adults in the world today.
- TB spreads through the air and is highly contagious.
On average, a person with infectious TB infects 10-15
others every year.
- People infected with TB do not necessarily become
ill - the immune system creates a barrier around the
bacilli that can remain dormant for years. 10% of
infected people (who do not have HIV/AIDS) develop
active TB at some point during their lifetime.
- Patients develop a persistent cough (sometimes with
blood in the sputum), fever, weight loss, chest pain
and breathlessness.
- The currently recommended treatment is a drug combination
that must be taken for 6-8 months.
|
|
|
