Tuberculosis cases at all-time low

ATLANTA - Federal health officials reported Thursday that tuberculosis cases fell to an all-time low in the United States last year, but the decline appears to be leveling off. <br> <br> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 15,991 cases of the respiratory disease in 2001, a two percent decline from 2000. It was the ninth consecutive year the number of U.S. cases has dropped. <br> <br> The number of cases had dropped seven percent from 1999 to 2000. <br> <br> CDC epidemiologist Lorna Thorpe said progress is continuing, but it is slowing. She said, ``We&#39;ve learned that lesson in the past -- when we don&#39;t pay attention to TB is when it resurges.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> TB cases jumped in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the disease developed resistance to some drugs and as the HIV epidemic took hold. The CDC credits a renewed push to treat and prevent the disease with the steady decline. <br> <br> Tuberculosis can spread only through prolonged contact in close quarters. It is easily cured but can be fatal if left untreated. <br> <br> Nearly half of new TB cases in the United States are among immigrants from high-risk countries. <br> <br> The CDC released the statistics in advance of Sunday&#39;s World TB Day, designed to mark international efforts to stamp out the disease. Tuberculosis kills two million people worldwide each year.