12 May 2011
A new study from the American Journal of Public Health finds a significant TB burden in large U.S. cities. Researchers investigated tuberculosis incidence rates and characteristics of patients with TB in large U.S. cities. They categorized 48 cities annually from 2000 to 2007 as reporting decreasing or non-decreasing rates with the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Tuberculosis Surveillance System.
They compared demographic, clinical and treatment characteristics of patients with TB. They found that 42,448 patients with TB in 48 cities accounted for 36 percent of all U.S. patients with TB, comprising 15 percent of the total U.S. population. Researchers also discovered that 29 of the 48 cities showed no significant change in TB incidence over the course of the study, which raises concerns for the elimination of TB.
The study's authors wrote, "Our study illustrates the need to address the continuing challenges of urban TB control and highlights some of the factors contributing to variability of TB trends among cities. It is important to detail how specific characteristics of the urban environment shape health and how observations may extend to different urban contexts."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/225102.php
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