A new survey by the World Health Organization (WHO) has found the highest rates ever recorded for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) globally are occurring today. This is the largest survey on drug-resistant TB ever to be conducted, the data for which was collected between 2002 and 2006. The survey, published Monday 26th February and titled Anti-tuberculosis drug resistance in the world, covers 90,000 TB patients in 81 countries and also found that 45 countries have recorded cases of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis ((XDR-TB).
This is the first time the WHO survey has covered this virtually untreatable form of TB, and because many countries are not equipped to diagnose it, the real picture could be worse. TB is an infectious airborne respiratory disease caused by a bacteria that is spread by the coughing of infected people. Despite the disease being preventable and…
