Encyclopedia of Tuberculosis: Volume IV (International Perspectives in Diagnosis)

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a highly infectious disease and it is suspected that close to one-third of the world's human population has already been affected by it. It is an airborne disease and easily spreads through aerosols. However, the most worrisome fact is that most affected people are absolutely unaware of their condition because the responsible bacterium causes no specific symptoms. Nevertheless, the infected cannot spread the infection any further. Nearly, one-tenth of the infected individuals stand the chance of developing the disease, which makes its eradication a serious challenge. At the stage of development, the disease becomes dangerously contagious and the symptoms make rapid advances. Hence, detection and differentiation between infection and disease has become a serious problem. This book presents new approaches to TB diagnosis, improving detection and control of resistances.