Tuberculosis: Epidemiology and global impact, including extrapulmonary tuberculosis manifestation with emphasis on skeletal tuberculosis and a rare example of shoulder tuberculosis from tibetan plateau area

Tuberculosis (TB)-still one of the world’s top 10 causes of death-is a curable and preventable infectious disease, affecting any organ, the lungs mostly (80%), by the pathogens of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. About 25% of the world’s population is considered infected and a reservoir for new TB infections, despite intensive efforts by global TB control programs. The reasons for the difficulties of eradicating TB are the mycobacterium’s structure and factors favoring tuberculosis, espec. coinfection (HIV), drug resistance, demographic and socio-economic factors (age, poverty, hygiene, undernourishment, migration flow, war), and lack of access to medical care. The aim of this chapter is to give an overview about current data about tuberculosis concerning epidemiology and global impact, nature of the disease including two different opinions about pathophysiology of post-primary tuberculosis disease, and to provide information about often underdiagnosed extrapulmonary tuberculosis manifestations with emphasis on skeletal tuberculosis with an example of rare shoulder joint affection from Tibetan Plateau area.