There is no known cure for buruli, which is similar to tuberculosis. Half the people infected don't realize they have the disease, which health authorities talk only of trying to control. Eradication is not even on the horizon. The World Health Organization estimates that more people will die from TB this year than in any other year in history. It is estimated that at any time 2.5 billion people are at risk from malaria.
Most cases occur in tropical Africa and Southeast Asia.
According to recent studies, malaria is more prevalent today than it has been at any other period in history. More than 90 countries have malaria during all or part of the year, and at any given time, up to 300 million people are infected with the disease. Every minute worldwide, five people between the ages of 10 and 24 become infected with HIV, according to a new UN report. On the African continent, in the narrow band between the 15th parallels that bookend the equator, a tiny fly is jeopardizing the lives of 55 million people and could be responsible for one of the largest epidemics of this century. The bite of the tsetse fly can carry a parasite that will work its way through your body and, if left untreated, put you on course for a slow, agonizing and certain death.