Tuberculosis (TB) is curable but kills 5000 people every day,
almost all in the developing world. Around 1.7 million people
every year die from TB, and there were nearly 9 million new
cases in 2004. TB is a disease of poverty. It affects the most
vulnerable including the poorest and people who are
malnourished. TB is a leading killer of HIV-infected people with
weakened immune systems, especially in Africa where there are
250 000 TB deaths a year associated with HIV. In 2005, African
Health Ministers declared TB a regional emergency. Multidrug-
resistant TB (MDR-TB) is a form of TB that does not respond to
the standard drug treatment. Nearly half a million new MDR-TB
cases are estimated to occur every year. The highest rates of
MDR-TB are in countries of the former Soviet Union. WHO's
European Region also warned of a TB emergency in Europe. Despite
enormous challenges, TB control is succeeding with incidence
rates falling or stabilising in most of the world. In the last
ten years, more than 22 million TB patie