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The number of new cases of tuberculosis in the world each year is falling for the first time in at least two decades, marking a long-sought turning point for the globe’s second- largest infectious killer.
A lung infection that can spread to virtually any organ, TB has afflicted people for at least 15,000 years. Last year, it killed 1.4 million people. Among infectious diseases, only AIDS took a larger toll.
The downturn in new cases, announced Tuesday in Washington by World Health Organization epidemiologists, began in 2006 but wasn’t detected until this year, when new data from China, India and 17 African countries became available. That allowed the revision of global case estimates and ultimately of the disease’s entire trend.
