DOES AGE MATTER?

Abstract

tinues to be a significant healthcare problem as globally an estimated 9 million people develop active tuberculosis annually and approximately 2 billion people, one-third of the world’s population, are thought to be latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In the United States, new cases of M. tuberculosis have been declining annually since 1993, with an average decline in the TB case rate of 3.8% per year from 2000-2008. Last year the TB case rate (3.8 cases per 100,000) was the lowest reported rate since recording began in 1953, representing an 11.3% decline in the TB case rate for 2009. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports however that foreign-born persons in the U.S. have an 11 times greater TB case rate Volume 2 Issue 30