WHO says world TB cases decline for first time

WASHINGTON: The number of people getting sick with tuberculosis has dropped for the first time, while the death toll from the disease reached its lowest level in a decade, helped by progress in countries like China, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

In 2010, 8.8 million people fell ill with TB and 1.4 million died, both marking a notable decline over prior years, the United Nations health agency said in releasing its 2011 Global Tuberculosis Control Report. (Reuters)