LONDON (AP) - The fight against the global tuberculosis epidemic has slowed to a crawl.
According to a report by the World Health Organization, the worldwide rate of TB infection has been declining for several years. But it says between 2005 and 2006, the rate of new cases fell by less than 1 percent. That's far less than the annual decrease of 5 to 7 percent sought by health officials.
Independent health experts criticized the WHO's TB policy as too passive, and are urging a more proactive strategy.
The WHO report says India and China have the most TB cases, followed by Indonesia, South Africa and Nigeria.
TB infection rates were stable in Europe, and declined about 3 percent in the United States.
WHO primarily works by recommending how governments and donors can best fight TB. It is up to individual countries to decide how to spend funds.
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