Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the oldest diseases known to the mankind; it is also a leading cause of death among adults, and kills almost 500 children each day worldwide. More than 90% of TB-related deaths occur in developing countries. TB was declared global emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1993, with around 8-10 million new cases of the disease each year and over 2-3 million deaths worldwide (WHO Report, 2005). Nearly one third of the world's population are latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which produces the disease in immuno-compromised individuals, such as those with HIV infection. Consequently, large regions of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, where HIV is prevalent and/or general populations have low immunity due to social deprivation and poverty, are particularly vulnerable, and have seen a considerable rise in cases of TB during the past decade. TB cases have also been increasing in the USA and Western Europe since the 1990s. This trend is likely fuelled by recent, increasing migration of populations from Eastern European countries to Western Europe. After years of complacency and stagnation recent years have seen revitalization of the TB research, recently with a particular helping from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
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Muhammad Sohail (2006) studied this question.