Reuters examines global rise in drug-resistant tuberculosis cases

"[O]ften seen in the wealthy West as a disease of bygone eras," Reuters examines rising rates of tuberculosis (TB) -- drug-resistant TB in particular -- among the world's rich and poor. "[R]apidly rising rates of drug-resistant TB in some of the wealthiest cities in the world, as well as across Africa and Asia, are again making history," Reuters writes. According to the news service, "London has been dubbed the 'tuberculosis capital of Europe,' and a startling recent study documenting new cases of so-called 'totally drug-resistant' TB in India suggests the modern-day tale of this disease could get a lot worse."

"'We can't afford this genie to get out of the bag. Because once it has, I don't know how we'll control TB,' said Ruth McNerney, an expert on tuberculosis at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine," Reuters writes. The news service notes, "The WHO has convened a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss whether the emergence of TB strains that seem to be resistant to all known medicines merits a new class definition of 'totally drug-resistant TB,' or TDR-TB" (Kelland, 3/19).