[Epidemiology of tuberculosis].

Tuberculosis mortality and morbidity has decreased in Europe since the XIX century. In the 1950s, this decrease accelerated with the discovery of efficient antimycobacterial drugs. However, tuberculosis is still a current issue. It remains a long neglected public health problem. According to WHO evaluation ten million people are infected every year and more than three million die every year. Tuberculosis is the first cause of mortality in the world due to a single infectious agent. In 2000 (www.eurotb.org), the incidence of tuberculosis strongly varied according to three geographical areas: 13 case for 100,000 inhabitants in Western Europe, 40 cases for 100,000 in Central Europe, and 90 cases for 100,000 in Eastern Europe. Between 1972 and 1988, the number of tuberculosis cases reported in Metropolitan France fell to 71% (31,167 to 9,191 cases). The incidence decreased from 60 cases for 100,000 inhabitants in 1972 to 16 case for 100,000 in 1988, with a regular decrease of the incidence ranging around 7% per year. This evolution decreased to -2.5% per year between 1988 and 1991.