News Release

JAMA editorial: Tuberculosis – a global problem

Peer-Reviewed Publication

JAMA Network

In an editorial for the June 8, 2005 JAMA theme issue on tuberculosis, JAMA's Editor-in-Chief, Catherine D. DeAngelis, M.D., M.P.H., and Managing Deputy Editor Annette Flanagin, R.N., M.A., write, "Some developed countries, such as the United States, have had declining numbers of individuals infected with TB over the past decade, but 23 countries account for 80 percent of all new TB cases, with more than half concentrated in 5 countries (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, and Nigeria). Most new cases in the United States, and probably a substantial proportion of new cases in other developed countries, occur among individuals born in other countries. Clearly, TB is a global health problem."

"The articles in this theme issue of JAMA devoted to TB address a number of important concerns including screening; treatment for active and latent infections; multidrug-resistant strains; and improving screening, treatment, and quality of care for all vulnerable populations. These are serious problems that must be solved before TB can be controlled."

"We hope that the insight provided by the various articles in this issue of JAMA will stimulate more interest in better funding for research on the prevention, screening, and treatment of TB and more initiatives to use current knowledge to improve access to appropriate and effective care and thereby successfully control TB. Clearly, it will take the will and resources of the entire world to eradicate this global problem."

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(JAMA. 2005; 293:2793-2794. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.)


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