MDR-TB

The Geneva-based WHO has warned that alarm bells should be ringing worldwide because of the emerging threat posed by MDR-TB, which is able to fend off two longstanding frontline tuberculosis drugs.

ANC Daily News Briefing 2006

Since it was first discovered in 1994, 114 countries have reported outbreaks of MDR-TB, a deadly form of tuberculosis that is resistant to first line medication.

Kolleen Bouchane: Contagion -- the Stuff of Thrillers? Kolleen Bouchane 2011

India and China have the largest numbers of tuberculosis cases, and multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has been found in nearly every country, with XDR-TB in at least 57 countries.

The Scourge of TB 2010

A major hurdle in treating MDR-TB and XDR-TB is that the course lasts up to two years and is 200 to 1,000 times more expensive than regular TB drugs.

The Scourge of TB 2010

In the past 10 years an estimated five million people became sick with MDR-TB and 1.5 million have died.

Kolleen Bouchane: Contagion -- the Stuff of Thrillers? Kolleen Bouchane 2011

The countries hardest hit by MDR-TB are also two of the world's biggest trading partners -- India and China.

Kolleen Bouchane: Contagion -- the Stuff of Thrillers? Kolleen Bouchane 2011

A major hurdle in treating MDR-TB and XDR-TB is that the course lasts up to two years and is 200 to 1,000 times more expensive than regular TB drugs.

The Scourge of TB 2010

But the costs, in lives and resources of TB and MDR-TB, are far greater than even Steven Soderbergh could imagine.

Kolleen Bouchane: Contagion -- the Stuff of Thrillers? Kolleen Bouchane 2011

India and China have the largest numbers of tuberculosis cases, and multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has been found in nearly every country, with XDR-TB in at least 57 countries.

The Scourge of TB 2010

It's the story of multidrug resistant tuberculosis MDR-TB.

Kolleen Bouchane: Contagion -- the Stuff of Thrillers? Kolleen Bouchane 2011