An illustrated review of Tuberculosis in Pakistan

The resistant M. tuberculosis strains are potential threats for public health. These dangerous superbugs need special attention. The Multi-Drug Resistant and Extensive Drug Resistant M. Tuberculosis are emerging rapidly because of non-compliance and unsupervised indiscriminate use of antibiotics. The cases of tuberculosis cases have been reported in highly susceptible population groups including the local population of Pakistan. Tuberculosis is one of the major public health problems in Pakistan that ranks 5th amongst high burdened countries of the world. There are 61% of the Tuberculosis patients in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. Approximately 420 000 new tuberculosis cases emerge every year and half of these are sputum smear positive. Pakistan is also estimated to have the 4th highest prevalence of multidrug resistance globally. Hence an effective strategy is desired to control tuberculosis in Pakistan. Therefore we have tried to present comprehensive clinical and microbiological information related to M. tuberculosis. That may helps to develop the required skills to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of World Health Organization.