Tuberculous Meningitis

As is vividly illustrated by the report by Thwaites et al. in this issue of the Journal (pages 1741–1751), tuberculous meningitis continues to exact a devastating toll in developed and developing countries, despite the availability of effective chemotherapy. In sub-Saharan Africa, because of the effects of human immunodeficiency virus and AIDS, tuberculosis is now the most common form of bacterial meningitis. In countries with a high incidence of tuberculosis, tuberculous meningitis is typically a disease of young children that develops three to six months after primary infection. In countries with a low incidence of tuberculosis, tuberculous meningitis more commonly affects . . .