Each year, we commemorate World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24 to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB, and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease.
TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers. Each day, nearly 4000 lose their lives to TB and close to 28,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease. Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 63 million lives since the year 2000.
But complacency and ignorance of the facts and the belief that TB is a ‘foreigner’s disease’ amongst the UK population, means that our Government could be tempted to withdraw funding for surveillance systems, and treatment for TB in the UK.
The UK’s major cut in foreign aid also risks this country of having increased case of TB as result of foreign Government cuts in their ability to sustain current levels of management of the disease and eradication of the causes of TB – mainly poverty and non-neutriscious diets.
With travel from all parts of the world into the UK still taking place daily, despite the Covid epidemic; the risk of further increases in TB into the UK, remains a concern.
In reality, London is the worst place amongst UK major cities for occurrence of TB cases. Further, the North West of England had 507 cases of TB of which 117 cases occurred in Manchester, during the period 2000 to 2019.
See pic to the right. Click to enlarge.
Whilst this may seem low enough to be ignored, the reality is that small increases in England have been found during the last 5 years.
Both TB and Covid-19 are respiratory illnesses and both are highly infectious. With all medical resources and surveillance systems and reporting of infectious disease in the UK being concentrated on Covid, together with the major cut in foreign aid; there remains a risk that TB will once again flare up into becoming once again, an increasingly high incidence disease in the UK.
So what is Tuberculosis (TB)?
The NHS explains:
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person.
It mainly affects the lungs, but it can affect any part of the body, including the tummy (abdomen), glands, bones and nervous system.TB that affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) is the most contagious type, but it usually only spreads after prolonged exposure to someone with the illness.
As with Covid, the contagion is airborne!
Systematic screening for TB disease should remain a priority of the NHS and Government. It is simply, the systematic identification of people at risk for TB disease, in a predetermined target group, by assessing symptoms and using tests, examinations or other procedures that can be applied rapidly.
Systematic screening can benefit people who are at risk of getting TB, as early detection and start of treatment can improve their outcomes and reduce their costs. It can also benefit entire communities at higher risk for TB, by reducing the prevalence of TB disease and preventing future people from falling ill with TB.
The theme of World TB Day 2021 - ‘The Clock is Ticking’ –conveys the sense that the world is running out of time to act on the commitments to end TB made by global leaders. This is especially critical in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has put End TB progress at risk, and to ensure equitable access to prevention and care in line with WHO’s drive towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.
A World TB Day campaign for action!
On World TB Day, WHO calls on everyone to keep the promise to:
Accelerate the End TB Response to reach the targets set in Sustainable Development Goals, WHO End TB Strategy, the Moscow Declaration to End TB and the political declaration of the UN High-Level Meeting on TB.
- Diagnose and treat 40 million people with TB by 2022 including 3.5 million children and 1.5 million people with drug-resistant TB. This is in line with WHO’s overall drive towards Universal Health Coverage and the WHO Director General’s flagship initiative “Find. Treat. All. #EndTB” jointly with the Global Fund and Stop TB Partnership.
- Reach 30 million people with TB preventive treatment by 2022 so that those people most at risk receive TB preventive treatment, including 24 million household contacts of TB patients - 4 million of whom are children under 5 - and 6 million people living with HIV.
- Mobilize sufficient and sustainable financing to reach USD 13 billion a year to support efforts to end TB; for every USD 1 invested to end TB, USD 43 is returned as the benefits of a healthy functioning society (Economist/ Copenhagen Consensus).
- Invest in TB research to reach at least USD 2 billion a year for better science, better tools and better delivery.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is organizing a special virtual talk show to commemorate World TB Day on 24 March. This will put the spotlight on TB in the midst of the ongoing COVID crisis.
The theme for the Show and for World TB Day: ‘The Clock is Ticking’ – conveys the sense that the world is running out of time to act on the commitments to end TB made by global leaders. This is especially critical in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has put End TB progress at risk, and to ensure equitable access to prevention and care in line with WHO’s drive towards achieving Universal Health Coverage:
Connection Details:
https://who.zoom.us/j/91895978510
Code: Day2021#
Join us for an exciting special virtual talk show to commemorate World TB Day on 24 March at 13:00H CET.
This will put the spotlight on TB in the midst of the ongoing COVID crisis.
The theme for the Show and for World TB Day: ‘The Clock is Ticking’ – conveys the sense that the world is running out of time to act on the commitments to end TB made by global leaders.
This is especially critical in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has put End TB progress at risk, and to ensure equitable access to prevention and care in line with WHO’s drive towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.
The event will take place in a talk-show format with speakers connected by video on WHO’s interactive web-platform simply called the End TB Forum
Key speakers will include WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other senior WHO leadership, Health Ministers and high-level government representatives, Heads of Agencies, TB survivors, civil society and partners.
The Show will be broadcast live, with Q&A from the audience online.
Join us virtually on 24 March at 13:00 (Central European Time) 12:00 GMT
Source: WHO / NHS / unionsafety / Derek Maylor
You can download information and reports from WHO on TB from the Unionsafety E-Library by selecting category 'Infectious Disease / Pandemic'
