The Global Burden of Tuberculosis Infectious diseases remain the largest cause of death in the world, and among infectious diseases tuberculosis is responsible for the greatest number of deaths.
Tuberculosis kills more women worldwide than all causes of maternal mortality.
Tuberculosis is transmitted by the respiratory route, and the principal risk factor for acquiring infection is breathing. It is estimated that there are currently 10-15 million people in the US and 2.1 billion people worldwide who are infected with the tubercle bacillus and whose infection could reactivate. Thus, the major current strategy of treating only patients with active disease limits our ability to control tuberculosis and will require decades to reduce the incidence of disease significantly. Until the mid-1980s, tuberculosis in the United States had been declining, a trend which probably began over 70 years previously due in large part to improved living conditions and public health measures. This increase has been attributed to a number of factors, including deterioration in the public health infrastructure, rising numbers of homeless individuals and the growing AIDS epidemic.