Web resources for Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB) still the major killer among human population, that has co-evolved with the human civilization so beautifully and so robustly, is really surprising. The war against tuberculosis is on and we are trying here to integrate major resources that are available for the disease and the organism all over the web to a single place. This is one of the open articles that would be upgraded time to time for acknowledging the recent development in the field, so that you as a used need not spend much time in data collection and integration. Hope this helps.   

General information about tuberculosis: 

Wiki page on tuberculosis on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB (short for tubercle bacillus) is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body. It is spread through the air when people who have an active MTB infection cough, sneeze, or otherwise transmit their saliva through the air. Most infections in humans result in an asymptomatic, latent infection, and about one in ten latent infections eventually progress to active disease, which, if left untreated, kills more than 50% of those infected.

Wiki page on M. tuberculosis:   Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a pathogenic bacterial species in the genus Mycobacterium and the causative agent of most cases of tuberculosis (TB). First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch, M. tuberculosis has an unusual, waxy coating on its cell surface (primarily mycolic acid), which makes the cells impervious to Gram staining, so acid-fast detection techniques are used, instead. The physiology of M. tuberculosis is highly aerobic and requires high levels of oxygen. Primarily a pathogen of the mammalian respiratory system, MTB infects the lungs. The most frequently used diagnostic methods for TB are the tuberculin skin test, acid-fast stain, and chest radiographs. The M. tuberculosis genome was sequenced in 1998. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) page on tuberculosis: Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal. TB disease was once the leading cause of death in the United States. Focusing on Data and Statistics, Diseases and Conditions, Emergencies and Disasters, Environmental Health, Healthy Living, Injury, Violence and Safety, Life Stages and Populations, Travelers' Health, Workplace Safety and Health,  Learn More »

Global TB database: http://www.who.int/tb/country/global_tb_database/en/index2.html Access the database to make data queries, interactive maps and country profiles. Country profiles: Country profiles provide key indicators, notification and treatment outcome data, and budget and financing graphs (for a subset of countries, including all high-burden countries). For high-burden countries, there is also a brief overview of TB control and epidemiology in the country, and a summary of achievements, challenges and planned activities related to implementing the first 5 components of the Stop TB Strategy.

U.S. National Library of Medicine Resource on tuberculosis:  Has a resourced on various fields of the disease, from the basics to the advanced including the disease data.

WHO page on tuberculosis: Too many people have undetected TB for too long; late detection of TB increases their risk of transmitting the disease to others, having poor health outcomes, or that they and their family will suffer distress and economic hardship. WHO has produced an overview of approaches, guidelines and tools to improve early detection of TB. It presents a framework to assess barriers for early detection and helps identify appropriate actions.

The Stop TB Partnership: The Stop TB Partnership is leading the way to a world without tuberculosis (TB), a disease that is curable but still kills three people every minute. Founded in 2001, the Partnership's mission is to serve every person who is vulnerable to TB and ensure that high-quality treatment is available to all who need it. Together our nearly 1000 partners are a collective force that is transforming the fight against TB in more than 100 countries. They include international and technical organizations, government programmes, research and funding agencies, foundations, NGOs, civil society and community groups and the private sector. We operate through a secretariat hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland and seven working groups whose role is to accelerate progress on access to TB diagnosis and treatment; research and development for new TB diagnostics, drugs and vaccines; and tackling drug resistant- and HIV-associated TB. The secretariat is governed by a coordinating board that sets strategic direction for the global fight against TB.