TB is costly to the community both in terms of its human and its financial impact.
National data indicate that support of the public health tuberculosis infrastructure has paid off.
New York State has reported significantly fewer cases since 1993, with the greatest decline in cases occurring in New York City. All of those diagnosed with MDR-TB in 1996 and 1997 have been fully cooperative with therapy. As TB is frequently an early marker of infection with HIV, HIV testing should be performed on all patients with TB. . In contrast to most national and New York State data which show a strong male predominance, the male to female ratio of tuberculosis cases was close to 1 in 1996 and 1997. Many of the new cases of TB in women occur during the childbearing years.