In the United States, cases of tuberculosis reached an all-time low, but the disease continued to affect minorities at much higher rates than whites, said health authorities.
There were fewer than 10,000 US cases of TB for the first time since records began being compiled in 1953, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, primarily affects the lung. It may spread to other organs.
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The 9,951 recorded cases marked a 6.1 percent drop in the rate from 2011, and continued a 20-year trend of declining cases.
There was only one report of extensively drug-resistant TB last year in the United States, the CDC said.
However, the rates of TB among minorities and people born outside the United States were far higher than among whites.
![Screening Tests for Tuberculosis]( "Screening Tests for Tuberculosis")
Tuberculin skin test and Interferon - Release Assays are tests used to screen for tuberculosis.
Hispanics and African-Americans had TB rates that were seven times higher than whites, and the rate among Asians was 25 times higher.
Foreign-born individuals showed TB rates 12 times higher than seen in people born in the United States.
Tuberculosis remains one of the globe's top killers, according to the World Health Organization, which recorded 8.7 million new cases around the world in 2011, causing 1.4 million deaths.
Source: AFP
However, the rates of TB among minorities and people born outside the United States were far higher than among whites.
Screening Tests for Tuberculosis
Tuberculin skin test and Interferon - Release Assays are tests used to screen for tuberculosis.
Advertisement
Hispanics and African-Americans had TB rates that were seven times higher than whites, and the rate among Asians was 25 times higher.
Foreign-born individuals showed TB rates 12 times higher than seen in people born in the United States.
Tuberculosis remains one of the globe's top killers, according to the World Health Organization, which recorded 8.7 million new cases around the world in 2011, causing 1.4 million deaths.
Source: AFP
The Lungs - Animation
The lungs are our organs of respiration. It is within these, that exchange of gases takes place.
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 World Tuberculosis Day – 2013World Tuberculosis Day falls on March 24th each year.It is a global attempt at raising awareness on the disease. | Advertisement
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