TUBERCULOSIS is raging through Zambia, possibly overtaking malaria as the number one killer. TB cases have escalated to alarming levels and drugs in hospitals are in short supply. Observers say the government seems to have underplayed the seriousness. David Mondoka, a director of the Tuberculosis and Leprosy Trust, says the ailment is rampant in those aged 24-35, and estimates the number of those infected at 90000, with another 10000 undiagnosed. The government has no clear TB programme; when the Central Board of Health was introduced, the national TB unit was abandoned. “It is most unfortunate. The international community are asking why the government abandoned the control programme that was working so well,” says a ministry of health official.