If you look at the death numbers, the geographic distribution is similar to the incidence and prevalence of HIV and AIDS. In 2002 over 3 million persons died from AIDS displacing TB as the number one killer infectious disease in the world. This ranking of TB vs. AIDS has been debated by many, since a large number of patients with AIDS, especially those in Africa and Asia, go on to develop TB, and it is unclear to me how many of TB deaths were classified as AIDS. Regardless of how you classify it, the underlying message is very clear – there are far too many people dying with this disease.