Severe acute respiratory syndrome: Threat of tuberculosis  persists

doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7403.1396-b

BMJ 2003;326:1396 (21 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7403.1396-b

Letter

Severe acute respiratory syndrome

Threat of tuberculosis persists

The first 100% of the full text of this article appears below.

EDITOR—Zambon says in her editorial that severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has prompted the World Health Organizationto issue its first global alert for over a decade.¹

As I recall the last global alert, issued exactly 10 years andthree months ago, was for tuberculosis. With 2 million deathsa year and rising, tuberculosis kills as many people everysix hours as SARS has done since its first description. Yetthere are still no new drugs or vaccines on the horizon. Ihope the response to SARS will have better fortune.

Peter D O Davies, consultant physician

Cardiothoracic Centre, Liverpool L14 3PE peter.davies@ctc.nhs.uk

Competing interests: None declared.