Tuberculosis remains one of the major diseases afflicting children throughout the world.
In India nearly 3-4 million children have tuberculosis and another 94 million are at risk for this disease. The annual infection rate is about 3%. These figures are underestimates as they have not included children under the age of 5 years. The usual sources of infection are adults. An infected individual can transmit the infection to as many as 20 contacts.
How much of a threat is TB?
According to the World Health Organization, TB infection is currently spreading at the rate of one person per second. The disease kills more young people and adults than any other infectious disease and is the world's biggest killer of women. Each year, an estimated eight million to 10 million people contract the disease and about two million people die from it.
World Tuberculosis Day, held annually on 24 March, commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch presented his discovery of the TB bacillus to a group of doctors in Berlin. This year, World TB Day will focus on the efforts of frontline TB care providers and their crucial role in stopping TB.
WHO and TB
http://www.euro.who.int/
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