Tuberculosis and gender
WHO/TBP/Davenport
Nepal/Kathmandu. Tibetan carpet weavers have high TB rates.
In most of the world, more men than women are diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) and die from it. TB is nevertheless a leading infectious cause of death among women. Annually, about 700 000 women die of TB, and over three million contract the disease, accounting for about 17 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY). As tuberculosis affects women mainly in their economically and reproductively active years, the impact of the disease is also strongly felt by their children and families. The mortality, incidence, and DALY indicators do not reflect this hidden burden of social impact.
