Agencies warn of global TB "powder keg", funding gap

An emergency stop button is pictured in the new P3 level research laboratory against tuberculosis at the School of Life Sciences of the EPFL in EcublensBy Kate Kelland and Stephanie Nebehay LONDON/GENEVA (Reuters) – Deadly strains of tuberculosis that are resistant to multiple drugs are spreading around the world, and authorities urgently need another $1.6 billion a year to tackle them, global health officials said on Monday. Donors should step up with "significant funding" to help experts track down all existing cases and treat the most serious ones, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria said in joint statement. …