CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, March 24, 2008 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI said he was 'particularly close' to those sick with tuberculosis following Easter prayers which coincide with the World Tuberculosis Day.

'During this world day to fight tuberculosis, I am particularly close to those who are sick and their families and hope to increase global engagement against this scourge,' Benedict said at his Castel Gandolfo residence near Rome.

'My appeal is first directed to all the Catholic institutions so that those who suffer can realise, through their actions, that the Lord has risen so he can offer them healing, comfort and peace,' the pope told pilgrims.

The World Health Organisation warned in a report published last week that new TB cases are slipping through the detection net, as countries fail to keep up with rapid progress made in earlier years.

According to the WHO, some 9.2 million new cases of TB were detected against 9.1 million in 2005 -- but it also said only 61 percent of all TB cases worldwide are registered.

Including the estimates of non-detected cases, the WHO reported, there were 14.4 million cases in 2006 of TB -- an eminently curable disease.

Altogether, it said, TB killed more than 1.7 million people in 2006, including some 230,000 people who also suffered from HIV/AIDS, the organisation said.