Washington, DC--Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) hosted a World Tuberculosis (TB) Day briefing today, along with the Stop TB Partnership, a worldwide leader in the effort to halt the spread of tuberculosis. Rep. Engel was the author of the Stop Tuberculosis Now Act of 2007, which was signed into law by President Bush. The legislation aims to halve TB deaths by 2015, and eliminate it as a global health problem by 2050.

Tuberculosis kills 1.8 million people each year, the second leading infectious disease killer worldwide. It is the leading killer of people with HIV/AIDS and is the third-leading killer of adult women. Approximately 500,000 people each year become ill with a strain of TB which is multidrug resistant, with the World Health Organization stating that less than 10 percent of those people receive effective treatment.

Twenty years ago, the U.S. dealt with a deadly resurgence of similar type of TB strain, which took many lives, and cost New York City over $1 billion to control. This epidemic, fueled by the spread of HIV/AIDS, took place after years of TB decline and showed how TB remains a serious threat and that a sustained commitment from the U.S. is required to eliminate it.

“The rapid growth of TB infection, and the disease’s mutating into more lethal forms, is a public health menace we cannot ignore. It is thanks to the work of the Stop TB Partnership, along with other organizations such as the American Thoracic Society, the TB Alliance and the Global Health Council that a bright light continues to shine upon this health concern. Together, we can continue the fight against TB and towards a day when it will be relegated to the history books,” said Rep. Engel, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.

Rep. Engel is the author of the bi-partisan Congressional resolution H.Res. 1155, honoring World TB Day (March 24). He also initiated a call today with USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah to discuss global TB funding.