The United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined the international campaign for the "Call to Stop Tuberculosis (TB)," part of the Stop TB global partnership on Wednesday.

The global partnership (Stop TB) has been led by the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO), which was formed to help stop the international spread of the curable disease

The World Health Organization has expressed its concern over the failure of a global program for controlling the spread of tuberculosis and added that millions in Africa are currently at risk of catching this disease.

The organization is also cautioning about the outbreak of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis or XDR-TB that was detected in 2005 and killed 52 of its 53 victims. All of the victims were also infected with HIV. However, this extremely dangerous form of TB gained international attention only at the AIDS meeting in Toronto last August

St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, New York is urging hundreds of its former patients, especially new born babies to get a health check up over concern they may have been exposed to a potentially deadly disease of tuberculosis.

After a worker in the neo-natal unit tested positive for active tuberculosis on January 30th, the hospital authorities fear that 700 patients, including infants may have been exposed to TB. New York's health department is urging anyone who went to the hospital's maternity ward, neonatal intensive care, well baby nursery or psychiatric ward from November 1st to January 24th to get tested for TB

Smokers struggling to find a way to increase their will power in order to stop smoking might be dismayed to learn that cigarerette manufacturers are thwarting them by increasing the amount of nicotine in cigarettes. Nicotine is the main addictive ingredient in cigarettes.That is troubling because new research shows that smoking increases the likelihood that a smoker, or someone who inhales second-hand smoke, might get tuberculosis.

"Cigarettes are finely-tuned drug delivery devices, designed to perpetuate a tobacco pandemic," Howard Koh, associate dean for public health practice at HSPH and a former commissioner of public health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts said in a statement. "Yet precise information about these products remains shrouded in secrecy, hidden from the public. Policy actions today requiring the tobacco industry to disclose critical information about nicotine and product design could protect the next generation from the tragedy of addiction

In Beijing, government controls on population have extended from the bedroom to the kennel, as China formulates a one-dog only policy. Under the new guidelines introduced on Thursday, parents will be limited to providing one canine friend for their single child as China confronts a rabies scare.

In certain areas, larger canines such as Doberman and Labradors will be outlawed