This disease has affected all major regions of the world. The purpose of this report is to give the reader an idea of how dominating and debilitating this disease has proved to be. In addition, the need to control tuberculosis is evident throughout the world and various control programs have recently been implemented.
Tuberculosis is a global epidemic that has reached staggering morbidity and mortality rates.
Based on the results, the greatest concentration of reported TB infections occurred in Southeast Asia. This makes up almost half the total reported cases in the world. Furthermore, the number of cases in American and European populations has decreased since 1986. This means that a significant increase in the number of TB cases must have occurred between 1991-1993. HIV infected individuals also account for a high percentage of a recent rise in reported tuberculosis cases.