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Tuberculosis remains a world wide public health problem despite the fact that causative organism was discovered more than hundred years ago and highly effective drugs are available making tuberculosis a preventable and curable disease. According to conservative estimates one third of the world´s population is infected with tuberculosis. There are 15 20 millions cases of infectious tuberculosis in the word. This infectious pool is maintained by the occurrence of 4 5 million new cases. The magnitude of the problem is such that WHO declared it a global emergency in 1993. More recently during 1996, an estimated 7.4 million people developed tuberculosis bringing the global suffers to about 22 millions.In Pakistan out of approximately 130 million populations, about 1.6 millions suffer from tuberculosis. More than 300,000 new cases occur each year.Tuberculosis affects almost every stratum of the society including prisoners. Due to some unavoidable circumstances prisoners carry a much greater burden of various diseases than other members of society.

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Dr. Mohammad Mohsin born in 1968, achieved his Ph.D in Preventive Medicine (The Open International University for Complementary Medicines Colombo, Sri Lanka), is working as Research Coordinator and Resource Person in National HMIS Cell Ministry of Health, Government of Pakistan.

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