Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that affects lungs, intestine, meanings, bones and joints, lymph glands etc.

Pulmonary TB is the most common form of TB which is caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis. This disease is mainly transmitted by droplet infection and droplet nuclei generated by patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

TB is a global health problem and every year about 8 million people develop Tuberculosis worldwide. But the problem of Tuberculosis is more acute in developing countries which account for 95% of the cases. Poverty, economic recession and malnutrition etc, making people of developing countries more vulnerable to TB. Now, TB has formed a lethal combination with HIV.

In India Tuberculosis has taken the from of an epidemic, as India alone accounts for 1/3rd of world TB cases. Every year approximately more than two million persons develop TB of which one million are newly infected cases. About 5 lakh people die of TB every year.

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The more frightening condition related to this disease is that the incidence of multi drug resistant TB is rapidly which indicates an urgent need to take remedial measures. There are mainly two reasons that have caused this alarming condition. First it has been seen that treatment in most cases irregular and inadequate due to variety of reasons but poverty being the single most important one. Another reason is people do not pursue the long- drawn treatment schedule and relapses are quite common. Second, there are lots of quacks in this field and the government direction is completely lacking.

Also since Tuberculosis is a micro bacteria droplet infection and is quite common among the lower strata of the society where proper hygiene levels are not maintained. It is also quite prevalent at places which are over crowded and over populated like jhuggi shopari clusters.