Women, immigration, poverty and tuberculosis

Abstract

In December 2009 an information sheet edited by WHO reported that, in 2008, 3.6 million women fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) and 700,000 women died from TB, including 200,000 with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and TB. TB is the 3rd leading cause of death worldwide among women aged between 15 and 44 years. It should be noted that this range englobes both the reproductive and working age. TB is the 4th leading cause of death among women aged 10-19 years in low income countries. Once infected, women of reproductive age are more susceptible to developing TB than men of the same age...