In recent years, the decrease in reported tuberculosis in the United States has been due almost entirely to a drop in the number of cases of pulmonary disease. There has been little change in the average number of extrapulmonary cases reported. A retrospective survey of extrapulmonary tuberculosis has shown that it differs from pulmonary tuberculosis with regard to sex and race distribution, diagnosing physician's speciality and proportion of cases bacteriologically confirmed. There is variation within extrapulmonary cases according to specific anatomic site with regard to the above characteristics as well as age distribution. These epidemiologic differences in tuberculosis of different sites are unexplained.

Two recent surveys of selected states and cities suggest that foreign-born persons account for approximately 15 per cent of the new cases of tuberculosis reported annually in the areas surveyed.

Although there are several other potential explanations, the study findings provide indirect evidence that there is underdiagnosis or undertreatment of African Americans with serious mood disorders. Further research on this question in African-American populations is essential.

Death rates for Parkinson's Disease (PD) in the U.S.A. and the state of Georgia were investigated for the period 1979-83. Age adjusted death rates for the U.S.A. were greater in whites than blacks and greater in men and women. No differences were found in Georgia between urban and rural counties. Death rates were not higher in countries containing paper mills.

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