Tuberculosis (TB), although treatable, remains a major world killer, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report issued Thursday to coincide with World TB Day. Eleven percent of the area in the world has 25 percent of the diseases of this kind, and only three percent of the health workers, said U.N. special TB envoy Jorge Sampaio, referring to the 21 high-prevalence countries, located primarily in Africa and Asia, along with Russia and Brazil. Tuberculosis usually infects the lungs, but can affect the nervous system, the bones, the joints, or even the skin. The new 2007 report notes that deaths and existing TB cases fell between 1990 and 2005, yet the number of new TB cases continues to rise, with almost 9 million cases logged for 2005, up from almost 6.5 million the previous year. While the Arab world is not considered one of the high-risk areas, foreign nationals factored primarily into those who contracted the disease in a number of cases, according to the report. According to WHO, there are an estimated 25 to 49 new cases of TB per 100,000 people each year in Saudi Arabia. The report indicated that Saudi Arabia had instituted a good program.
