Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB)
This rare type of tuberculosis is resistant to a number of antibiotic drugs, which leaves fewer treatment options, thus increasing the risk of death from TB or lung cancer.
Tuberculosis is a contagious bacterial infection that involves the lungs, but can spread to other organs. A person with TB releases the bacteria into the air when they cough or sneeze, and the germs can float for several hours. People who breathe in the air containing the bacteria can become infected.
A total of 10,528 TB cases were reported in the U.S. in 2011, according to the CDC. Watch a video about XDR TB around the world.
