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Biomedical subjects

Lee B Reichman

Publications and source records attributed to Lee B Reichman.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Rethinking the socioeconomics and geography of tuberculosis among foreign-born residents of New Jersey, 1994-1999.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the socioeconomic profile of foreign-born tuberculosis patients in New Jersey. METHODS: Foreign- and US-born tuberculosis patients in 1994-1999 were compared using various measures of socioeconomic status. RESULTS: Out of 4295 tuberculosis patients, 2005 (47%) were foreign-born. Foreign-born patients resided in more affluent, more educated, and less crowded areas than did US-born patients (P <.005). They were also more likely to have been employed during the 2 years before diagnosis (62% vs 41%, P <.001). Private physicians treated the majority of South Asian-born patients. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial numbers of employed foreign-born tuberculosis patients now reside in affluent New Jersey locations. Changes in tuberculosis control programs may be required when the socioeconomic status and place of residence of foreign-born populations diverge from traditional assumptions linking poverty with tuberculosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Of these, the most common species to infect humans is M. tuberculosis. The TB bacillus is an extremely successful human pathogen, infecting two billion persons worldwide; an estimated 2 to 3 million people die from tuberculosis each year. In the United States, TB rates decreased steadily at the rate of 5% per year from 1953 until 1985 when the trend reversed, with the number of TB cases peaking in 1992. Outbreaks of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB) were reported, and these cases were documented to be transmitted in nosocomial and congregate settings, including hospitals and prisons. AIDS patients infected with M. tb developed disease rapidly, and case-fatality rates of >80% were noted in those infected with multidrug-resistant M. tb. Intensive intervention, at enormous cost, caused the number of TB cases to decline. This article discusses factors that led to the increase in TB cases, their subsequent decline, and measures needed in the future if TB is to be eliminated in the United States.

Antitubercular Agents↗