xdr-tb has now been found in 45 countries - it's a killer

The rate of TB patients infected with the drug-resistant strain has topped 20 per cent in some countries, the highest ever recorded according to a report from the UN. Though the report is the largest survey of drug-resistant TB, based on information collected between 2002 and 2006, there are still major gaps: data were only available from about half of the world's countries. In Africa, where experts are particularly worried about a lethal collision between TB and AIDS, only six countries provided information. Experts also worry about the spread of XDR-TB, when an XDR-TB outbreak was identified in AIDS patients in South Africa in 2006, it killed nearly every patient within weeks. WHO's report said XDR-TB has now been found in 45 countries. Globally, there are about 500,000 new cases of drug-resistant TB every year, about 5 per cent of the 9 million new TB cases.