1/3 of the world's population probably has inactive, latent TB. It can reactivate in stress, old age, or if you become immunocompromised or it may not reactivate at all.
A lot less have active TB, which is making them sick right now.
As the director of the local public health agency, I appreciate the flow of federal bioterrorism dollars that have allowed us to improve our emergency response infrastructure since 9/11. On the other hand, the recent news story - "More than five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the government cannot show how the $5 billion given to public health departments has better prepared the country for bioterrorism attack or flu pandemic" - does reflect that at least some of those billions might have been better spent.
March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day - an appropriate time to propose that investment in TB control and other core public health functions is perhaps the best way to be truly prepared.
Dr. Thomas Schlenker is the director of Public Health Madison-Dane County.