10 facts about tuberculosis as given by WHO

In 2012 8.6 million people fell ill with TB

But tuberculosis is curable and preventable

A total of 1.3 million people died from TB in 2012  (including 320 000 people with HIV) 

TB remains one of the world’s top infectious killers. About 95% of  TB  deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries and it is  among the top three causes of death among women aged 15 to 44.

Up to 74 000 HIV-negative children died due to TB globally in 2012

Childhood TB is often overlooked by health providers and can be  difficult to diagnosis and treat. There are about 10 million orphan  children as a result of adult TB death

TB is the leading killer of people living with HIV

About one in four deaths among people with HIV is due to TB. But about 1.3 million lives were saved over seven years (2005 to 2011) through  coordinated TB and HIV services to detect, prevent and treat the  dual infections.

The number of people falling ill with TB is declining and the TB death  rate dropped 45% since 1990

For example, Brazil and China have showed a sustained decline in  TB cases over the past 20 years. In this period China, had an 80%  decline in deaths.

About 80% of reported TB cases occurred in 22 countries in 2012

TB occurs in every part of the world. Nearly 60% of new TB cases  occurred in Asia in 2012. The greatest rate of new cases per capita  was in sub-Saharan Africa. No country has ever eliminated this disease.

Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) does not respond to standard  treatments and is difficult and costly to treat

MDR-TB is a form of TB that is present in virtually all countries  surveyed by WHO. The primary cause of multi-drug resistance is  the inappropriate or incorrect use of anti-TB drugs.

An estimated 450 000 people developed MDR-TB in 2012

In some cases an even more severe form of multi-drug resistant TB  may develop with bad treatment. Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) is a form of TB that responds to even fewer available medicines.

About 56 million TB patients have been successfully treated since  1995 worldwide

Up to 22 million lives have been saved since 1995 through DOTS  and the Stop TB Strategy.

The world is on track to achieve two global TB targets set for 2015: 

Europe and Africa are not on track

• The Millennium Development Goal, which aims to halt and  reverse global incidence; and

• The Stop TB Partnership target of halving deaths from TB  (in comparison with 1990).