The population dynamics and control of tuberculosis

Science. 2010 May 14;328(5980):856-61. doi: 10.1126/science.1185449.

Abstract

More than 36 million patients have been successfully treated via the World Health Organization's strategy for tuberculosis (TB) control since 1995. Despite predictions of a decline in global incidence, the number of new cases continues to grow, approaching 10 million in 2010. Here we review the changing relationship between the causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and its human host and examine a range of factors that could explain the persistence of TB. Although there are ways to reduce susceptibility to infection and disease, and a high-efficacy vaccine would boost TB prevention, early diagnosis and drug treatment to interrupt transmission remain the top priorities for control. Whatever the technology used, success depends critically on the social, institutional, and epidemiological context in which it is applied.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / epidemiology
  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / prevention & control
  • Aging
  • Antitubercular Agents / therapeutic use
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Disease Susceptibility
  • Endemic Diseases
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • HIV Infections / epidemiology
  • HIV Infections / prevention & control
  • Health Services
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis* / drug effects
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis* / genetics
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis* / pathogenicity
  • Polymorphism, Genetic
  • Population Dynamics
  • Prevalence
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Sputum / microbiology
  • Tuberculosis / complications
  • Tuberculosis / epidemiology*
  • Tuberculosis / microbiology
  • Tuberculosis / prevention & control*
  • Urban Health

Substances

  • Antitubercular Agents