World Tuberculous Day 24th March

Did you know Tuberculous (TB) ranks alongside HIV as a leading killer worldwide? 

I noticed it was World Tuberculous Day this Thursday and did a little research on it and was surprised and shocked by the findings particularly as this is a completely preventable and curable disease.

Every day over 4,000 people are dying from TB which is horrendously unacceptable especially when it is a curable disease.   This includes 383 children a day. It is among top 5 causes of deaths for women between 15-44.

According to UN Global Tuberculous Report the worldwide incidence has fallen 1.5% per year since 2000 for a total reduction of 18% and still in 2014 1.5 million people died from TB.  In 2014 9.6 million people fell ill with TB.

Photo Credit: World Health Organisation Global Tuberculous Report 2015

Yet it is not all bad news, we have made much progress with the death rate 47% lower than it was in 1990 and an estimated 43 million people saved between 2000-2015.

54% of the world’s TB cases occurred in China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan though there is a significant gap in diagnosis of TB.

So just what is TB?  

It is a bacterial infection which most often affects the lungs spread through the air.  Scarily about 1/3 of the world’s population has latent TB which means that they have the disease but are not yet ill and cannot transmit the disease.  However there is a 10% risk of falling ill with TB which increases for those with compromised immune systems such as those who are HIV positive, are malnourished or use tobacco.

Without treatment 45% of HIV negative people and nearly all HIV positive people with TB will die.   In 2013 86% of people who were treated fro TB were cured. 

Photo Credit: World Health Organisation

Why is there a TB day? 

World TB Day is the opportunity to raise awareness about the burden of TB and also provide an update on the status of TB prevention and treatment. 

Included in the UN Sustainable Development Goals is the aim to reduce TB incidence by 80% and TB deaths by 90% as well as the burden of the disease on the family by 2030.

Photo Credit: World Health Organisation 

Challenges of TB

• symptoms of TB (cough with sputum and blood, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, ever and night sweats) can present mildly for several months which leads to treatment delays and continual spread of TB to the community
• The length of treatment is from 6 months to up to 2 years which do not come without side effects leading to low adherence rates
• Access to and cost of diagnosis and treatment hinders prevention and treatment
• The emergence of not only Multi Drug Resistance TB (MDR-TB) but also Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) where both first and second line medicines fail to work

What can we do? 

• Enourage family and friends who have the symptoms of TB to see a Dr
• Support those on TB treatment to continue the entire course
• Donating to The Global Fund which will lead to additional research to improve access to and diagnosis and treatment of TB (as well as AIDS and Malaria). There is an estimated $1.3 Billion Dollar shortfall. Donate here
• Ensure children in India and other countries at risk are vaccinated against TB
• Listen to World TB Day 2016 To be continued 24 hour music event About World TB 2016 24 hour Music Event  Listen to the Event here

Photo Credit: WHO Global Tuberculous Report 2015

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AarogyaSeva and AarogyaSeva does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

To get in touch with the author or to join our team write to us at – Volunteer@aarogyaseva.org