Description: Tuberculosis, supposedly defeated by antibiotics half a century ago, has returned in a highly contagious and fatal new form that cannot be treated with conventional drugs. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), which may now infect 50 million victims worldwide and could cause some 10 million deaths over the next decade, is thriving in the overcrowded prisons of the former Soviet Union, where about one quarter of the undernourished inmates carry the "superbug".

How does a disease in Eastern Europe threaten to become a global epidemic? As Timebomb explains in unnerving detail, the virtual collapse of the world's borders means that refugees, tourists, immigrants, business travelers and others can spread the TB bacillus very efficiently. Passengers on international flights could bring the disease to virtually any city on the planet within hours of leaving home. London, for example, has experienced a 100% increase in reported cases in the past 10 years.

Written by the world's preeminent TB expert and an award-winning medical and health writer, Timebomb details the evolution and the current state of the MDR-TB epidemic, interweaving the science of MDR-TB with personal stories of people whose lives have been threatened by the deadly bacteria.

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