The World Tuberculosis Day, which falls every March 24, commemorates the day in 1882 when German doctor and pioneering microbiologist Robert Koch announced that he discovered the cause of the disease, which at the time was responsible for the death of one in every seven people, paving way toward the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
In celebration of the 2014 TB day, several groups have urged to step up efforts to better diagnose and treat the disease, which albeit curable, still inflicts millions of people worldwide primarily in India, China, Bangladesh, South Africa, Pakistan, Indonesia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Vietnam, Russia and the Philippines.
A report released by French-founded Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned of TB becoming a global threat as it is becoming resistant to antibiotics. It said that because standard TB medications can no longer treat these trains, doctors have to opt for a more expensive and longer treatment that can only cure half of the patients and leave long-lasting side effects.
"TB is one of the gravest public health threats facing the world today, and is all the more serious as drug resistance takes a grip," the MSF report read [pdf]. "There are an estimated 450,000 new cases a year of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) reported in virtually all countries surveyed by the World Health Organization worldwide, and with extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) reported in 92 countries."
Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that a third of 9 million people infected with TB each year do not receive the necessary care and treatment and this spawned the drug resistant strain that spreads at an alarming rate.
Children are notably more vulnerable to MDR-TB. A new research published in The Lancet March 24 suggests that many cases of tuberculosis including MDR-TB are not detected in children.
"Our estimate of the total number of new cases of childhood TB is twice that estimated by the WHO (World Health Organisation) in 2011, and three times the number of child TB cases notified globally each year," said study researcher Ted Cohen from the Harvard School of Public Health.
WHO says up to 2 million people may be infected with drug resistant TB globally by 2015 but WHO director general Margaret Chan said that early diagnosis may be helpful.
"Earlier and faster diagnosis of all forms of TB is vital," said Chan. "It improves the chances of people getting the right treatment and being cured, and it helps stop spread of drug-resistant disease."
