Ending Neglect: The Elimination of Tuberculosis in the United States

Ending Neglect not only sounds a critical alarm, it sets out a road map for how to avoid the coming public health disaster. (Anyone remember the 1.3 billion dollar outbreak in NYC in 1990?) While we have neglected to develop new tools, new drugs and proper treatment for those in need, tuberculosis (TB) has continued to spread in predictable ways. Now that humanity's neglect has resulted in multi-drug resistant and extensively-drug resistant strains of tuberculosis, the clock is ticking in a "24" type of way. The majority of states will be reporting increases of TB cases for 2008 after years of drastic cuts to public health budgets. Our ambitious goal of TB elimination seems a far distant dream as prevention has been pushed aside and surveillance and control safety nets fray. Against this backdrop Ending Neglect provides a clear background on the disease, the fundamentals for TB control and our situation within a global context. Will the Obama administration pay attention? Will it end the neglect? Will states set pound-foolish priorities in tight budget times regarding their public health departments? The jury is still out, but this report goes a long way towards formulating an action plan.