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Who Is Affected by Tuberculosis (TB)

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one-third of the world's population is infected with the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. About 2 million people die from TB each year.footnote 1

  • Almost 9 million new active TB cases occurred in 2011.footnote 2
  • More than 80% of the people with TB live in 22 countries, most of them in Africa and Asia.footnote 2
  • In the United States 11,162 people had active TB in 2010.footnote 3

Citations

  1. Nachega JB, Chaisson RE (2003). Tuberculosis drug resistance: A global threat. Clinical Infectious Disease, 36(Suppl 1): S24-S30.
  2. World Health Organization (2012). Global Tuberculosis Report 2012. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Press. Available online: http://www.who.int/tb/publications/global_report/en.
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012). Trends in tuberculosis-United States, 2011. MMWR, 61(11): 181-185. Also available online: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6111a2.htm?s_cid=mm6111a2_e%0D%0A. [Erratum in MMWR, 61(18): 329. Also available online: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6118a7.htm.]

ByHealthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer R. Steven Tharratt, MD, MPVM, FACP, FCCP - Pulmonology, Critical Care Medicine, Medical Toxicology
W. David Colby IV, MSc, MD, FRCPC - Infectious Disease

Current as ofNovember 18, 2017

Current as of: November 18, 2017

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & R. Steven Tharratt, MD, MPVM, FACP, FCCP - Pulmonology, Critical Care Medicine, Medical Toxicology & W. David Colby IV, MSc, MD, FRCPC - Infectious Disease