23
March 2009
March 24 is World Tuberculosis (TB) Day
The World Health organization (WHO) and Stop TB Partners=
hip
recognizes every March 24th as World TB Day. =
;This
date is 1882 is when Dr. Robert Koch found the bacteria that causes the
airborne disease tuberculosis. Extensive information on most aspects =
of
tuberculosis can be located via the WHO link at: www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_tb_day/en/ind=
ex.html
Specific
information on the timely topics of multidrug resistant (MDR) and extensive=
ly
drug resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (“M/XDR-TB”) can be found at:=
www.who.int/tb/challenges/mdr/en/index.html
As
of 2008, one or more XDR-TB cases had been confirmed in 45 nations. E=
ach
year an estimated 40,000 new cases of XDR-TB occur. An estimated 490,000 new
cases of MDR-TB cases occur each year, with over
130,000 deaths.
The
dual pandemics of HIV and TB are most common in
This
week international TB conferences include the “Stop TB Partners
Forum” in
Stop
TB Partnership is a network of 700 stakeholders and its secretariat is base=
d at
the WHO. Stop TB has seven working groups that include: Advocacy, Communica=
tion
and Social Mobilization; DOTS Expansion, MDR-TB, TB/HIV, New Drugs, New
Diagnostics, and New Vaccines.
The
Stop TB and WHO has as one target goal to decrease by half tuberculosis
prevalence and deaths by the year 2015 compared with 1990. Currently, they
report that progress toward this goal is behind schedule in Africa and
Daniel
R. Lucey, MD, MPH
EROne Institutes,