The paper consists of seven Chapters and provides general background on tuberculosis, epidemiology data, treatment outcomes, control strategies, new diagnostics, HIV co-epidemics and research patterns.
Physicians will find policy guidance on diagnostics and treatment outcomes in this paper. Students come across information on etiology of the disease and the problem of multidrug resistant tuberculosis. Data on cases and deaths and mortality/morbidity trends since 1990 caused by tuberculosis is crucial for epidemiologists. Health care providers and economists meet essential data on tuberculosis funding, prevention and treatment. Scientists acquaint with status of progress in the field of diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccine for tuberculosis management. This paper may serve a fundamental basis for a presentation concerning tuberculosis epidemic, prevention, and financing at global, country and regional level because it accounts for 99% of the world tuberculosis cases. Annexes are of detailed interest because they provide material regarding the methods to calculate estimates of the burden of disease, contain online country profiles, and provide data on important indicators for the world and countries.
World Health Organization is an authoritative agency of the United Nations. It is responsible for eradication of smallpox and plays a significant role in international public health support. A core team of fourteen contributors produced the current report. However, more than eighty people of the WHO stuff throughout the world input data collection, interpretation and review. Thus, different historical, national, economical and medical aspects are taken into account. This benefits the manuscript and makes the report a reliable source of information. The paper provides comprehensive world maps concerning drug resistance, domestic funding, treatment cost, HIV co-infection, giving a demonstrative picture of tuberculosis geography. All the data have been accurately mathematically processed, that allows the manuscript to claim its reliability. The series of tuberculosis WHO reports having started in 1997, there is no doubt of researchers’ experience and paper’s validity. WHO carries the global tuberculosis database, which covers almost 200 countries, and using an online data collecting system, makes the survey noteworthy. Thus, the value of publication is credible.