The World Health Organization will get a new director-general after its main decision making body approves the nomination of Dr Margaret Chan. Chan is a Chinese expert who has tackled bird flu and sars.

If her appointment is approved, she will become the first Chinese person to head a major U.N. agency. She will replace South Korea's Lee Jong-wook who died during his term in May

There has been startling increase in Tuberculosis in Britain, with people from South Asia - India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh - accounting for most cases.

Briatain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) released figures stating there was a 10.8 percent increase in TB cases in Britain

A team of international scientists have identified a key part of the body's immune system that is believed to help fight tuberculosis.

The study, published in the journal Science, found cells in the body have a receptor on their surface which sends out a signal calling for immune system aid when TB is detected

he World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday that a highly drug resistant form of tuberculosis could become a major killer in AIDS-affected parts of Africa where governments have been slow to roll out TB control programs.

After an outbreak in South Africa that has killed at least 74 people since January 2005, health officials are amping up efforts to revise global health plans and redirect funds to fight virulent, extremely drug resistant strains of TB, known as XDR-TB

The World Health Organization has warned the European Union that it is facing a risk of a deadly outbreak as drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis in Eastern Europe and central Asia were recently discovered.

The WHO said the "hottest zones" of new strains were all on the borders of the EU and the Red Cross described the risk as the most alarming tuberculosis situation since World War II. The group is urging leaders in the region to do more to fight the imminent threat