Avian Flu Diary: World TB Day: March 24th

# 5437

(From the 2011 TB Progress Report)

Nearly 40 years ago, when I first entered the EMS arena (1972), Tuberculosis was in decline and most of the TB hospitals around the country were closing.

Antibiotics and education – a least in developed nations – were making a huge impact.

Several times a year, however, I’d be called upon to transport a TB patient to the A. G. Holly TB hospital in Lantana, Florida. A slightly nervous four-hour ride in the back of an ambulance for an 18 year-old EMT, armed with just a surgical mask for protection.

While it seemed during the 1970s that we were on our way to beating tuberculosis (something that had hospitalized my grandmother for months in the 1930s), that victory never materialized.

Instead, we’ve seen the rise of new, drug resistant strains of the TB bacillus, and a resurgence of the disease.

Tomorrow, March 24th, is World TB Day and across the globe individuals, organizations, and agencies will be working on generating greater TB awareness and in many cases, working towards a cure.

The World Health Organization has released a new report and a factsheet on MDR-TB & XDR-TB in advance of this yearly event on the the status of Tuberculosis around the world and the progress being made in its control.

WHO progress report 2011

Towards universal access to diagnosis and treatment of MDR and XDR-TB by 2015

Today, for World TB Day, we launch a new report Towards universal access to diagnosis and treatment of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis by 2015.

Progress is being made, but the response is far from sufficient given the MDR-TB threat facing the world. Two years on from the Beijing declaration - which was endorsed by all 27 high burden countries featured in this report - the commitments by some countries are too slow off the mark or simply stalled.

MDR and XDR-TB progress report 2011 - fact sheet pdf, 308kb

MDR and XDR-TB: WHO progress report 2011

You’ll find the CDC is also observing World TB day, with this feature on the CDC website.

TB Elimination: Together We Can!

World TB Day is March 24. This annual event commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of M. tuberculosis—the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB).

Tuberculosis is one of the world's deadliest diseases: one-third of the world's population is infected with TB; each year, over 9 million people around the world become sick with TB; and each year, there are almost 2 million deaths worldwide. In the United States, TB rates have been declining slowly since 1993. Despite this trend, there remains a disproportionate burden of TB among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. This is due to unequal distribution of TB risk factors that can increase the chance of developing the disease. To learn more about TB risk factors, please visit the TB website.

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