Epidemiology of tuberculosis

Abstract

Tuberculosis, that “old acquaintance of Pneumology”, is still a disease with a high morbidity and mortality in the world. This is why, in spite of our having entered the XXI century, it continues to demand our attention, great challenges continue to be faced, such as bringing it under control, and new problems continue to arise, such as the emergence of multiresistant tuberculosis. Thus, for the World Health Organisation, it represents a disease of great importance that has led this body to develop a specific and ambitious program that aims at its eradication by the year 2050. In this article we detail some of the most interesting aspects of the epidemiology of this disease, with special attention paid to the problem of multiresistant tuberculosis, and we present up to date data on the morbidity and mortality of tuberculosis in the world.