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World TB Day --- March 24, 2001

March 24, 2001, will mark the 19th annual World TB Day, which recognizes the collaborative efforts of all countries involved in eliminating tuberculosis (TB). TB is the second leading cause of death among infectious diseases worldwide. An estimated 2 billion persons---one third of the world's population---are infected with the bacteria that cause TB, and approximately 2 million persons die each year from TB.

After years of decline in the United States, the number of reported TB cases increased 20% during 1985--1992. This resurgence was associated with deterioration of the infrastructure for TB services; the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic, which substantially increased the risk for active TB among persons with latent TB infection; immigration of persons from countries where TB was endemic; TB transmission in congregate settings (e.g., hospitals and prisons); and development of multidrug-resistant TB. However, a renewed emphasis on TB control and prevention in the mid-to-late 1990s resulted in substantial declines in the disease. In 2000, the provisional number of TB cases decreased for the eighth straight year to an all-time low of 16,372 cases, a 7% decrease over the 17,531 cases reported in 1999.

In 2000, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a CDC-commissioned report on the feasibility of eliminating TB in the United States. The report supports a statement by the Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis that commits to the goal of eliminating TB in the United States. The IOM report states that more aggressive and decisive action will be required for TB elimination. The report also recommends that the United States further engage in global TB prevention and control efforts. Some of CDC's efforts in this area, specifically projects in the Russia Federation, are highlighted in this issue of MMWR. Additional information on World TB Day and CDC's global TB activities are available on the World-Wide Web, http://www.cdc.gov.

Disclaimer   All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables. An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800. Contact GPO for current prices.

**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to mmwrq@cdc.gov.

Page converted: 3/22/2001

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