Rise of a Deadly TB Reveals a Global System in Crisis

A new form of tuberculosis so resistant to antibiotics that doctors label it as “incurable” has emerged in South Africa – and could also be present in China, Russia and India. “The recipe for spreading the disease is the same throughout the world: inappropriate use of antibiotics,” writes physician Lawrence Altman for “The New York Times.” Bacteria become resistant to antibiotics when the drugs are over-prescribed throughout populations or when patients fail to take the full course of treatment, ending the drug regimine when symptoms vanish. Mycobacterium tuberculosis infects about 9 million people annually, leading to more than a million deaths. The developing world lacks laboratories and doctors to monitor emerging diseases, and the danger of tuberculosis is that it can spread without symptoms for years. – YaleGlobal