ABSTRACT
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is the most prevalent infection in the world with an estimated 8.8 million (range, 8.5–9.2 million) incident cases globally in 2010, 1.1 million (range, 0.9–1.2 million) deaths from tuberculosis (TB) among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative people and an additional 0.35 million (range, 0.32–0.39 million) deaths from HIV-associated TB [1]. Approximately one-third of deaths occurred in children. Furthermore, in 2009, there were an estimated 9.7 million (range, 8.5–11 million) children who were orphans as a result of parental deaths caused by TB [1].
