A cross-sectional and follow-up study of leukopenia in tuberculosis patients: prevalence, risk factors and impact of anti-tuberculosis treatment

Tuberculosis is a chronic respiratory infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In 2012 there were 8.6 million new cases of tuberculosis and 1.3 million tuberculosis associated deaths worldwide (1), and the corresponding figures in China were 1 million and 44,000, respectively (2). The prevalence of tuberculosis is heterogeneous across different countries and regions; the prevalence is relatively low in developed countries, and 95% of tuberculosis patients are distributed in developing countries (3). China is one of 22 high tuberculosis burden countries around the world, second only to India (4). According to the national fifth epidemiological sampling survey of tuberculosis in 2010 (5), the prevalence of active tuberculosis was 459/1,015 in people 15 years of age and older, and increased with age, suggesting that the burden of tuberculosis is still very high in China