Verses: Portraits of Disease
Galina, a 19 year-old sales technician, lies in bed with a difficult form of tuberculosis. Kyiv City Tuberculosis Hospital, Ukraine, 2008
Approximately 1.5 percent of Ukraine's population is infected with tuberculosis (TB). Thirty-five percent of Ukraine's TB cases are multi drug-resistant, also known as MDR-TB, which is very difficult to cure. According to the World Health Organization, as of June 2008, XDR-TB, or extensively drug resistant TB has been confirmed in Ukraine. XDR-TB is even more difficult to cure than MDR-TB. Each year, over 1.5 million people die due to TB worldwide.
