For years, global program, aimed at keeping the spread of tuberculosis bacteria checked, is on the move. However, the recent spread of a particular form of tuberculosis in South Africa has raised question that how far we have we have been successful in combating TB, which still infects approximately 8.8 million people in a year, causing 1.6 million deaths worldwide. Have a glimpse of the TB situation, prevailing in the world, from the eyes of World Health Organization:-
One third of the world’s population is currently infected with the TB bacillus.
Every year, a total of 100 million people get infected with the TB bacilli worldwide, some 8 million develop active (infectious) TB and 2 million will die.
TB is the leading killer among infectious diseases. It accounts for 1 in 4 of adult preventable deaths.
Experts believe that the global program, aimed at checking the spread of TB has been imperiled due to several factors like misuse of antibiotics; other bad medical practices, like failing to segregate high-risk patients in hospitals and clinics; and cuts in government spending for such basics as adequate supplies of drugs and laboratories to do the testing. About 125 years ago with the discovery of mycobacterium tuberculosis, the microbe that causes that disease, efforts were put on the track to vanquish this microbe. No doubt, largely our efforts bore fruits, but still much remains to be done.
[Estimated TB Incidence Rates-chart-2005 (Source WHO)]
Moreover, the recent revelation by the experts, stating that vaccines used to fight TB are constantly losing their efficacies, put a jarring note, giving us a reason to once again ponder over our strategy, honed to subjugate deadly TB.
Dr. Weyer and her team after using statistics from recent years estimate that 6000 new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis occurred in South Africa each year and that the rate of treatment failure was about 10 per cent. More worrying is the revelation by Dr. Paul Nunn, a tuberculosis expert at the WHO, according to which this outbreak of tuberculosis is not restricted to Africa only but has seeped into other adjoining countries too.
I seems that time has come when we shall have to give way to some positive changes in our fight against TB and for that cause every nation will have to give its full contribution.
Via: NY Times