.bmp)
.bmp)
WASHINGTON-The rate of tuberculosis incidence fell slightly worldwide for a second straight year in 2006, but there were still 9.2 million new cases and the disease killed 1.7 million people, the U.N. health agency said on Monday,The rate decline of 0.6 percent in 2006 compared to 2005 was so modest that the increase in the world's population meant there were actually more TB cases globally, the World Health Organization said in its annual report on tuberculosis.And WHO officials cited worrisome trends suggesting that recent progress was stalling, while saying more money is needed to fight TB, which trails only AIDS as the world's leading killer among infectious diseases.By region, Africa had the highest TB rates while Asia had the most cases. By nation, India had the most cases, followed by China, Indonesia, South Africa and Nigeria, according to the report based on data from 202 countries and territories."We're really in a very uncertain situation, so I don't feel happy at all, actually, that it is really getting controlled," Dr. Mario Raviglione, who heads WHO efforts against TB, told reporters in a conference call."The major concern is that there is a slowdown here, rather than an acceleration, in TB control efforts,"Raviglione said.The data came out a month after another WHO report showed that TB cases that defy existing drugs were occurring globally at the highest rates ever, with nearly 490,000 cases in 2006. Parts of the former Soviet Union were particularly vulnerable.TB is an infectious bacterial disease typically attacking the lungs.The emergence and spread of drug-resistant germs makes treating it much harder and could make it even deadlier.To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...
