39.TB Makes a Scary Comeback
An outbreak in South Africa of an extremely drug-resistant strain of the tuberculosis bacterium is raising international alarm. While the incidence of highly drug-resistant tuberculosis in the United States is still negligible, the disease is gaining ground in countries where large numbers of people have immune systems weakened by HIV. In healthy individuals, the TB bacterium can hide in white blood cells and remain dormant for years, but among those with a suppressed immune system, the bacillus can take off. In 2006 the virulent strain killed a cluster of 120 rural HIV-infected South Africans.
Epidemiologists worry that the combination of HIV-burdened immune systems and total drug resistance could put TB on the fast track to causing an uncontrollable epidemic. Mario Raviglione, director of the World Health Organization's TB effort, says that containing the new strain will require a massive influx of cash — on the ...
