Tuberculosis

This chapter investigates how the epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) has changed in recent years due to shifting demographic trends. Although the incidence of TB in the United States has followed a generally downward trend in recent decades, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and an increase in homelessness, poverty, and drug abuse continue to remain the major risk factors for infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria causing TB. Influxes of refugees and immigrants from areas of the globe endemic to tuberculosis contribute to the growing incidence of TB. Although <italic>M. tuberculosis</italic> is thought of primarily as a disease of the lungs, the bacteria can attack any organ in the body, most commonly the kidney, brain, and spine. This chapter details the testing, evaluation, surveillance, and treatment of patients with TB.