ABSTRACT
Tuberculosis remains a major global problem and a public health issue of considerable magnitude. In recent times, there has been a resurgence of tuberculosis in both developing and developed countries. Several risk factors have been observed for this serious phenomenon. These include the increasing prevalence of HIV infection, overcrowding in the urban population and in abnormal communities (such as prisons, concentration camps, refugee colonies), poor nutritional status, appearance of drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis, ineffective tuberculosis control programmes, and an increase in migration from countries where tuberculosis is prevalent to the developed world. The incidence of tuberculosis varies from 9 cases per 100 000 population per year in the US to 110-165 cases per 100 000 population in the developing countries of Asia and Africa.1-3
Tuberculous involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) is an important and serious type of extra-pulmonary involvement. It has been estimated that approximately 10% of all patients with tuberculosis have CNS involvement.4
