Recent Developments in Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection (Report‪)‬

Introduction It has been estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that more than one third of the entire world's population, or approximately 2 billion persons are infected and can be considered carriers of TB. From this vast pool of persons with latent TB infection (LTBI) approximately 200 million will tuberculosis prevention--tuberculosis treatment develop active TB during their lifetime (1). More than 80 per cent of these will be contagious and transmit TB infection to others, perpetuating the cycle of TB and resulting in continued morbidity and mortality from TB for generations to come (2). The impact of TB is even greater than these numbers may suggest, as 75 per cent of individuals with TB are within the economically productive age group of 15-54 yr (2), and TB disproportionately affects low and middle income countries, as 95 per cent of all cases and 99 per cent of all deaths occur in these countries (2).