Tuberculosis

Abstract
• The incidence of tuberculosis in the United States appears to be rising, most likely because of the introduction of the human immunodeficiency virus, and other factors such as outbreaks among the homeless and immigration of infected people from other countries. Because diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis has shifted from specialized centers to the community, it is important that primary care physicians recognize and properly manage early forms of the disease. Several patients are described for whom an early diagnosis was not made, resulting in serious morbidity for the patients and risk of spread of disease to contacts. (Arch Intern Med 1987;147:2037-2040)