Tuberculosis is a chronic-onset infectious disease that primarily, but not only, affects the respiratory system.
Dreaded until the 1940s in Western countries, tuberculosis was almost forgotten in the following decades, thanks to the improvement in sanitation, housing and nutritional conditions of the population that occurred since World War II and the introduction of penicillin and antitubercular drugs such as streptomycin, isoniazid, rifampin, and ethambutol.
The situation remains, however, worrisome in developing countries, where living conditions are still precarious, medical care is not always accessible and HIV infection (the main risk factor for the development of tuberculosis in the severe active form) is widespread.
In these areas, tuberculosis has never ceased to be a serious public health problem and a leading cause of death. In some African countries, for example, there are still 400-500 new cases per year per 100,000 population.
In the West over the past 2-3 decades, there has been a relative increase in tuberculosis cases, some of which are of particular concern because they are driven by strains of bacteria that are resistant to the drugs normally used to combat the disease. However, in countries with good hygiene and nutritional standards and healthy living environments, tuberculosis remains a rare disease.
