FRIDAY, Aug. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Standard methods of treating tuberculosis are failing in countries with high rates of multi-drug resistant (MDR) forms of the disease, say researchers who analyzed World Health Organization data from 2003 to 2004 for 155 countries.

In countries with high rates of MDR-TB, patients are nearly twice as likely to fail their initial treatment than patients in countries with low rates of MDR-TB -- 21.4 percent vs. 11.9 percent. The findings suggest that current TB treatment regimens need to be updated and revised, the study authors said.

yBy Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, July 22 (HealthDay News) -- In 2006, 57 percent of all tuberculosis cases in the United State were among foreign-born individuals and, as time passes, that population is under increased threat from the disease, a new study warns.

Between 1993 and 2006, the total number of cases of TB in the United States decreased by 45 percent -- from more than 25,000 to less than 14,000. However, that decline occurred primarily among people born in the United States, note researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

I never enjoyed my history classes, as they were filled with memorizing names (mostly men's), obscure dates and battle fields. However, I do remember learning about the bubonic plague and cholera in my public health classes (which was interesting to me), and these are only two of the twelve diseases that are discussed in the book, "Twelve Diseases That Changed Our World" (by Irwin Sherman).

The cell phone is joining the arsenal of technology used to keep folks healthy.

A student-led group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge has developed a way to use cell phones to let tuberculosis patients report their adherence to the drug regimen they must take. If the tests show patients are following doctor's orders to take all their medication, they get rewarded with free cell phone minutes, the Associated Press reports.

Progress against the global tuberculosis epidemic may be slowing, a World Health Organization report suggests. The report, released Monday, found that the rate of new cases fell by less than 1 percent between 2005 and 2006, far less than the targeted annual decrease of 5 to 7 percent, the Associated Press reported.