Reach, Treat, and Cure

“Every year, among the estimated 9 million persons who develop Tuberculosis (TB), 3 million are missed – not diagnosed, treated or even tracked by national TB programs.” according to a Puneet Dewan of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, New Delhi, India.

Tuesday, March 24th 2015 was World TB Day. What is Tuberculosis? Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a disease which can affect any organ, but mostly the lungs. Despite being curable and preventable for more than 100 years, there has been a rise in a multidrug-resistant (MDR) form sometimes requiring patients up to 2 years of treatment, daily health visits, and up to 250 injections or 15,000 pills. Of the MDR patients treated, only 48% of them are cured. TB is a global health concern as people travel, TB knows no borders. It’s easy to bring back home with you.

In countries with a low TB rate, the cases that do pop up can be hard on the health systems in regards that they are hard to fund and obtain a proper supply of the drugs needed to fight it. MDR TB has been reported in almost every country with an extensive strain being in at least 100 countries. Although the World Health Organization states that we are making wonderful progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reversing the spread of TB by 2015, MDR TB has been reported in almost every country with an extensive strain being in at least 100 countries. In 2013, 9 million were diagnosed with TB and 1.5 million of those passed away. Is this enough? We in the United States must contribute to the global fight.

TB is curable and preventable and when caught early and treated properly, the risk of MDR TB decreases immensely. Researchers at the University of George in Athens have developed a drug that may serve as treatment against the MDR TB. The drug stops the bacteria from being able to grow and reproduce and is showing results that it will not be harmful to humans.

The right steps are being taken for a cure and you can make a difference by promoting and supporting TB education programs like the World Health Organization’s (WHO) that help those infected by MDR TB from getting to the point of resistence through the “Reach, Treat, and Cure” campaign. The World Health Organization has laid out a 20 year plan to end this epidemic and their “Reach, Treat, and Cure” campaign is a great way to start getting involved and to see what you can do to spread the word.

Let’s speed up the efforts to put an end to TB, together.

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