The number of reported cases of tuberculosis in Missouri has fallen to 136 in 2002, compared to 157 in 2001, and 211 in 2000. Despite the positive news, the Missouri Department of Health wants it made clear TB is not a concern of the past – it is still a major health problem. Vic Tomlinson, with the Health Department’s Section for Communicable Disease Prevention, says that while the number of TB cases in the United States is decreasing, it is still a major problem globally, killing approximately three million people around the world every year.
