The disease tuberculosis is now the biggest killer of women, according to new research from the World Health Organisation.

Figures show that 900 million women world-wide are infected with the disease. This year alone more than one million of them will die and over twice that number will become infected.

BBC Health Correspondent Richard Hannaford reports on the TB death toll

The disease is often perceived as most frequently affecting the elderly, and in industrialised countries a quarter of all cases occur in those over 65. But in the developing countries of Africa and South America, TB is most common among young adults.

Women of childbearing age between the ages of 15 and 44 are more likely than men of the same age to fall sick with the disease. Women in this age group are also at greater risk from HIV infection which makes them more susceptible to TB too.

The leading causes of death of women aged between 15 and 44 are: TB - 9%; war - 3%; HIV - 3%; heart disease 3%.

Experts on the disease are meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, to look at the biological, social and cultural differences in the occurrence of TB.

Dr Paul Dolin, from the WHO's Global Tuberculosis Programme said: "Wives, mothers and wage earners are being cut down in their prime and the world is not noticing. Yet the ripple effect on families, communities and economies will be felt long after a woman has died."

Controlling the disease

The WHO's strategy for controlling TB is called DOTS, which stands for Directly Observed Treatment. It involves diagnosing TB from saliva samples and then using professional or volunteer health workers to make sure that those infected take a combination of anti-biotics for up to six months or until the bacteria has been eradicated.

But poorly run TB programs often contribute to the problem. Patients who do not complete the full course of their anti-biotics and stop taking them when they are feeling better, can develop anti-biotic resistant TB mutations. Drug resistant TB is more costly to cure and more likely to be fatal.

In March the WHO accused 16 countries of failing to take the danger of TB seriously. The countries included Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, Afghanistan Nigeria and Pakistan.

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