Today is World Tuberculosis Day, and for the first time in six years, the case rate of tuberculosis (TB) in Mississippi is higher than the national average, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH).

In 2007, 137 new cases of the disease were reported in Mississippi, bringing the state's case rate to 4.7 (per 100,000 people), compared with the national average case rate of 4.4.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, is expelled into the air when infected people cough or sneeze. Others are then infected when they breathe the bacteria into their own lungs. Not all people infected with TB become contagious, or even ill.

"In the 1980s, Mississippi had the second highest TB case rate in the nation. To combat this, Mississippi developed a nationally recognized TB program, and by 2001 our TB case rate fell below the U.S. national rate for the first time in over 30 years," said State Health Officer Dr. Ed Thompson. "Now, due in part to reductions in MSDH field staff, the number of TB cases has increased for the past two years, suggesting a dangerous trend. We've again surpassed the national rate, and it is critical that we get nurses and disease investigators out on the front line to bring these numbers down."

MSDH has asked the Legislature for $10 million in additional funding for these field positions, which Dr. Thompson said is essential to reduce the incidence of TB in the state, as well as other serious health concerns such as infant mortality and syphilis.

"Restoring these positions will allow us to begin reducing TB in Mississippi through improved case management, contact investigations, intensified outreach and testing," said Dr. Thompson. "We can control TB in Mississippi; we've done it before when our rates were the worst in the nation. If we did it once, we can do it again; we just need the resources."

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