500,000 increase in World Health Organization's estimate for tuberculosis sufferers highlights ongoing challenges in diagnosing the disease

The WHO (World Health Organization) recently revised the figures it released in its Global Tuberculosis Report 2014 to increase the number of developed cases of tuberculosis by 500,000. Though tuberculosis is very much treatable, weak healthcare infrastructure in most affected nations hinders diagnosis and consistent, effective treatment. This, coupled with a lack of funding, has resulted in the persistence of the major strains and the increasing prevalence of difficult to treat drug resistant strains of tuberculosis.