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[Enrico Palazzo]

Tuberculosis: A new pandemic? Story Highlights
New virulent strand of tuberculosis is virtually incurable

Called XDR-TB, it is spreading globally in alarming numbers

Its mutation could have been prevented because TB itself is a curable disease

The WHO has called for more money to fund treatment of TB to prevent XDR

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Read PHOTOS
By Patrice Poltzer
For CNN


LONDON, England -- Many people think of tuberculosis as being a disease from the past. The truth is far from it: Tuberculosis is mutating into dangerous new strains for which there is no known cure.


A mother comforts her young son who is suffering from TB meningitis.

more photos � One of the most frightening strains is XDR-TB, which stands for extensively drug-resistant TB.

Unlike less virulent strains, XDR-TB does not respond to the antibiotics that are usually used to treat TB. The disease is virtually incurable and threatens to become a pandemic.

About 40,000 new cases of XDR-TB emerge every year, the World Health Organization estimates.

Award-winning photojournalist James Nachtwey, who has chronicled the death and devastation the disease is bringing to many countries around the world, describes XDR-TB as "a merciless, man-eating predator lurking in the shadows."

He warns: "If it's not contained, the consequences could be dire."

Nachtwey, who has been covering humanitarian crises for more than 30 years, was awarded a TED prize in 2007 which gave him $100,000 and one wish to change the world.


Vital Signs
Each month CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta brings viewers health stories from around the world.


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His wish centered on spreading awareness of this deadly form of TB and the images are borne out of Nachtwey's frustrations with the underreporting of what is potentially a global health crisis.

His photos tell the grim stories of impending death. In one, a man's suffering is so palpable that it is almost impossible to tear your eyes away from him. See Nachtwey's arresting photos �

Another image shows a woman in a Thai hospital staring vacantly, as if resigned to the fact that death is soon approaching.

Yet another shows the look of helplessness on a mother's face faintly reflected in the terrified eyes of her ailing child. And so the images continue, revealing with each click of the mouse a photo that is more haunting than the last.

Nachtwey traveled to seven different countries, including Cambodia, South Africa, Swaziland and Siberia, and used his photography to tell the story of a disease that primarily afflicts developing nations, but has been found elsewhere worldwide.

His work is documented at XDR-TB.org, a Web site solely dedicated to telling the story of the disease through his powerful images.

Health experts say that the tragic thing about XDR-TB is that it should not exist. TB in itself is curable. But if anti-TB drugs are not properly administered or used, the disease can mutate into deadlier strands such as XDR.

And the life-saving drugs used to treat regular TB only cost $20 per patient in the developing world, according to the WHO.

SAVEOURSOULS

[caniff]

XDR-TB needs to get in line. Doesn't it know we're currently embroiled in a global financial meltdown?

Hopefully this goes away like other would-be pandemics have, such as Ebola and SARS (they did go away, right?)

[Big_Bird]

They've been concerned about this for years. It's very worrying. My father's sister was blighted by TB when she was a child. I'd hate for it to take hold again.

[canuckistan]

The course of treatment is rigorous and many people don't complete it, and many countries lack the resources to make sure that patients complete it.

It's not good news.